Yesterday, President Andrzej Duda signed the act drafted by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy to support parents in their professional activity and in bringing up their children - the “Active Parent” scheme. This law will make it easier for parents of young children to combine family and work life. By offering the support and choice to parents we strengthen Polish families.

The Active Parent scheme covers the support for all young children and all families of such children. This is a huge achievement of which I am extremely proud, and I am delighted that the President's signature allows us to launch the next steps in implementing this programme so that these funds can soon reach the parents. Applications for benefits under the “Active Parent” scheme may be submitted starting from 1 October We are now working on an intuitive, user-friendly system, Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk said during the conference.

A priority for the Ministry of the Family is to enable and encourage parents of children aged between 12 and 35 months to be professionally active so that they can return to or enter the labour market after a break associated with the care for a young child. Nowadays, parents, most often mothers, have to choose between family life and work after a child is born. “Active Parent” is a comprehensive response to contemporary challenges of demographics, the labour market and care services. It is a programme addressed to hundreds of thousands of Polish mothers and fathers willing to combine their professional activity with providing care for their children.

I would like to remind that the law prepared by my ministry passed through the Polish Parliament almost unanimously. All political groups decided to support this project, which aims to give parents a choice. Free choice in how they want to organise the care for their children. I am pleased that the law prepared contains elements close to all parties forming the government coalition. This project obviously comprises the so-called “grandmother’s benefit”' proposed by Prime Minister Tusk, i.e. direct financial support for those parents who, returning to the labour market, decide to entrust childcare to a grandmother, a carer, an uncle or a grandparent. This law includes solutions advocated by the Left, i.e. the expansion of places in nurseries, so that parents who decide to send their child to a crèche can rely on a subsidy of up to PLN 1,500 to the fee for such a place. But the law also includes solutions closer to more conservative groupings, such as the Polish People's Party, for those families who decide to stay at home with their child, Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk added.

“Active Parent” is an investment in the labour market, in labour activation. This refers, in particular, to women, as they are usually the ones who give up work after having a child. A shorter period outside the labour market means more opportunities for a better job and professional development. The ability to return to work also has a positive impact on their pension benefits in the future.

The “Active Parent” scheme is based on three pillars

The first one is the “active parents at work” benefit. It is addressed to active parents of a child aged between 12 and 35 months. They will be eligible to this benefit regardless of their income. The basic prerequisite for eligibility to the benefit under this pillar is that those who wish to apply for this benefit must be economically active. Both parents must be economically active. The benefit will amount to PLN 1,500 per month per child. In the case of a child with disability who requires additional support, this amount will be increased to PLN 1,900.

Under this benefit, parents will be able to enter into an activation contract with a nanny, a grandmother, a grandfather or other person caring for the child. The contract is a beneficial arrangement for persons undertaking care. It enables granting a state subsidy for the cost of pension and retirement insurance as well as health insurance. It does not generate additional costs on the part of a parent. Such a solution will contribute to the exit of the care work from the “shadow economy” and the receipt of a pension benefit by carers in the future.

The second pillar of the programme is the benefit called “actively in the crèche” targeted at parents of children attending childcare institutions up to the age of three. It will be granted in the amount of up to PLN 1,500 per month per child or up to PLN 1,900 per child with a disability. The benefit is not subject to any income or activity criterion.

What is also extremely important to us is to introduce, increase, raise the level of quality of childcare for children up to the age of three, so that every parent returning to work or undertaking another activity is confident that their children are in the best hands. What does it mean? They will stay in a crèche adapted to the needs of young children, cared for by educated, competent and well-paid carers, said Aleksandra Gajewska, Deputy Minister during the conference.

The third pillar is the “actively at home” benefit, which will be granted to each child aged between 12 and 35 months in the family and will be paid at a rate of PLN 500 per month. This is a benefit addressed to families where one parent will not return to work after the birth of a child.

The choice of one of these three benefits will be entirely at the discretion of the parents.

The Social Insurance Institution will immediately start work on setting up an IT system to support the scheme. Applications may be submitted online, as in the case of the 800+ programme. Applications will be accepted from 1 October and the first payments will be launched later this year.

At the same time, the Ministry of Family runs the “Active Toddler” scheme, which supports local authorities and private entities in the construction of new crèches. The aim of this programme, is to create and subsidise the operation of 102,577 childcare places for children up to the age of three. The budget of the Scheme consists of funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and funds from the European Funds for Social Development programme. In total, the budget of the scheme is close to PLN 6.5 billion.