Creating conditions for persons with disabilities to function like any other citizens is an integral part of our government’s. We take various measures in that direction. Thanks to the State Fund for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, we can implement modern programs to support the activity of people with disabilities in all dimensions of social life - said Paweł Wdówik, the Deputy Minister of Family and Social Policy and the government representative for people with disabilities, during a press briefing.

The briefing was also attended by Krzysztof Michałkiewicz, the President of the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (PFRON), who thanked Mr. Paweł Wdówik for the activities undertaken for the benefit of people with disabilities,

including the Independence-Activity-Mobility program. The huge interest in the subsidy for the purchase of a car has led the PFRON to make changes to the program.

What is changing in the Independence-Activity-Mobility program?

• The maximum amount allocated to the program has been abolished. The amount of PFRON’s funding for the program will be determined annually in PFRON’s financial plan.
• The program will be carried out without a time limit. The decision to terminate the program will be made by the Supervisory Board of the PFRON.
• Subsequent calls will begin at 10:00 a.m. on the first day of the call, rather than at midnight, as was the case in the first round of calls. New rules for processing applications have also been introduced.

To date, 5,038 applications have already been received for support under the module that includes a subsidy for the purchase of a car, for a total amount of nearly PLN 660 million. The program attracted the most interest in the Mazowieckie Province, where 662 applications were submitted, and in the Śląskie and Małopolskie Provinces (about 500 applications in each).

1,048 grant decisions have been issued and 1,004 agreements have already been signed for a total amount of support close to PLN 145 million.

Accessible public space

Another important thing is the summary of the completed 1st call for the Accessible Public Space program. 300 million zlotys have been allocated for the program. Its purpose is to support local governments in the elimination of various barriers, not only architectural ones - said Paweł Wdówik, the government representative for people with disabilities.

The program will be implemented from 2023 to 2027. The first call for applications for the program was launched in May this year. The deadline to apply for the funding was July 15, 2023. The ranking list will be announced by August 31 this year.

The program will be implemented in four modules:

• Module A implies the elimination of architectural or information and communication barriers by local and regional government units or their organizational units. In the first call in this module, as many as 844 applications were submitted for a total amount of nearly PLN 183 million. The planned amount of grants in this scope is PLN 50 million 672 thousand.
• Module B, on the other hand, covers the elimination of architectural or information and communication barriers by churches or other religious associations and their legal entities. In this module, 114 applications were submitted for a total amount of nearly PLN 23 million. The plan is to allocate PLN 12 million for grants under this module.
• Module C will allow local government units or their organizational units, churches or other religious associations and their legal entities, and non-governmental organizations to build accessible playgrounds or improve the accessibility of the existing ones. Under this module, as many as 305 applications were received for a total amount of more than PLN 101 million, and the planned amount of funding is PLN 10 million 664 thousand.
• Module D implies the elimination of technical, information, and communication barriers, as well as the provision of assisting technologies and equipment to enable people with disabilities to benefit from the services provided by medical entities. This module includes the possibility to benefit from gynecological and obstetrical care that is universally accessible, which people with disabilities cannot take advantage of due to existing barriers. Under this module, 89 applications were received for a total amount of nearly PLN 6.7 million. The plan is to award grants in the amount of PLN 6.664 thousand.

To sum up, in the program’s first call for applications, 1,352 applications were submitted for a total amount of almost PLN 314 million. The planned amount of funding is PLN 80 million.

The largest number of applications were submitted in the Mazowieckie (207), Małopolskie (128), and Wielkopolskie (112) Provinces, and the smallest in Opolskie (35), Lubuskie (44), and Warmińsko-Mazurskie (51) Provinces.

Subsequent calls will be announced depending on the financial resources available for the Program. The decision will be made each time by the Management Board of the PFRON.

A second open call is tentatively scheduled to be launched in December 2023 with a budget of at least PLN 120 million.

More investment in VRU and OTW

It is also planned to increase subsidies for the cost of a year’s stay of a participant in an occupational therapy workshop (OTW) and a person with disabilities employed in a vocational rehabilitation unit (VRU). The amount of funding for one year’s participation in an OTW has already been increased to PLN 29,496 for 2023. On the other hand, funding for employment at VRUs has been increased for 2023 to PLN 31,000.

Work is currently underway on the possibility of increasing the funding for VRUs and OTW. VRU funding is planned to increase by January 2024 to PLN 37,000 (an increase of PLN 6,000). On the other hand, for OTWs, the amount is assumed to increase in the beginning of 2024 not by the already accepted amount close to PLN 2,000, but by PLN 3,000.