Already at the beginning of its term, the government decided that its goal would be to develop institutions taking care of children until the age of 3. In this way, the Toddler+ program has become one of the main pillars of effective family policy alongside the Family 500+ program.

More and more parents can reconcile the upbringing of children with paid work due to the increasing number of places in day nurseries and children’s clubs thanks to the Maluch+ [Toddler+] program.

Higher program budget = more places of care

At the end of 2018, around 146,000 places of care for the youngest kids functioned in Poland. This means almost 74% more places than in 2015.

Only in this year, thanks to the Toddler+ program, 27,600 new places of care for children until the age of 3 will be established in day nurseries, children’s clubs and day caregivers. For comparison, 2,500 places of care were created with Maluch+ in 2015, which means 10 times less than today. Such a good result would not have been possible without increasing the budget of the program. In last year’s edition of Toddler+, we set aside 450 million PLN for beneficiaries for the first time, which means three times more funds than in 2017. The same amount is at our disposal this year.

Higher program budget = lower day nursery charge

Local governments should also remember that the scope of support under the program is not limited to help in establishing a day nursery or a children’s club. Every year participants of the Toddler+ program can count on the supplementary funding of existing places of care of small children. Only during this year will 74,600 places receive financial aid.

This means that parents will pay less for their child’s stay in a day nursery or a children’s club. This ensures real profit to parents, particularly if they entrust their children to public institutions. The average monthly charge that parents pay for their child’s stay in a public day nursery or children’s club is currently 419 PLN lower than charges in private institutions.

Moreover, the amount of charges for a place in private day nurseries and clubs receiving financial aid under the Toddler+ program also decreases. In the 2019 edition, the amount of financial aid by which parents’ monthly charge was decreased is 100 PLN in non-public entities.

Day nurseries with places for disabled children

In 2017, a special edition of the Toddler+ program “For Life” was announced as a part of the comprehensive family support program “For Life”. Communes could apply for financial aid. Within the scope of the special edition, 77 new places were created for children who are disabled or require special care. In addition, 266 places of care were adapted to the needs of children from this group, and 233 places received financial aid for their functioning.

Since 2018, special financial aid for places for children who are disabled or require special care has been provided under the main program. Today not only local government entities, but also natural persons, legal persons and organisational units having no legal personality may apply for financial aid. Only during the last year more than 630 places for disabled children received financial aid for their current functioning. In this year’s edition, 734 further places will receive such aid (data are taken from the results of the tender).

As regards the supplementary funding of a place for a child who is disabled or requires special care, this amount under the Toddler+ Program 2019 is 500 PLN; for other places, it amounts to 100 PLN. Within the pool of funds for a place of care for a disabled child, 100 PLN is intended to decrease parents’ charges, whereas 400 PLN is intended for the funding of costs incurred by the entity.

Safer day nurseries and children's clubs

Thanks to new laws and regulations that came into force in 2018, regulations on the feeding of children in day nurseries were introduced in day nurseries. This is a new quality because previous regulations failed to regulate the issue of nutrition, specifying only the obligation to provide feeding in day nurseries and the possibility of hygienic consumption of meals. Consequently, these meals were not controlled in terms of the content of nutrients.

Apart from that, caregivers and volunteers were put under an obligation to attend cyclical first aid training, which also increased the level of children’s safety. In addition, all employees of day nurseries and children’s clubs are checked for their presence in the database of the register of criminal sexual offenders or whether they have not been convicted of a valid sentence for intentional offence.

Children’s parents benefited from this, too. Now they can established a parent council that has the right to access the premises of a day nursery or a children’s club and documentation concerning meals served to children and may present and consult proposals concerning activities.

Not only figures are important

Last year, on the ministry’s Empatia website, a map of institutions of care of children until the age of 3 was made available with detailed information about day nurseries and children’s clubs, e.g., opening hours, the amount of charges, the number of registered children, contact data of institutions, and information whether the day nursery or children’s club is adapted to the needs of children who are disabled or require special care. New institutions are added to the map every month:

By the end of 2019, the number of places in care institutions will increase to 185,000 (around 192,000, including nannies), i.e., by the record number of 100,000 places. It is almost twice more than under the previous government.

The rate of availability of places of care for children until the age of 3 in Poland (along with nannies’ care) totalled 19.4% at the end of 2018, which is over 60% more than in 2015. At the end of 2019, this rate will amount to 24.3%.

But the most important thing is not data and rates, but real support for parents, who not only can leave their child in a nearby day nursery or club, but also they do not have to worry that they will not afford such an expense.