The draft act on Family Care Capital – an important part of the Polish Order – is part of the policy of counteracting negative demographic trends by introducing a new benefit addressed to families with children and intensifying actions for the development and maintenance of the care system for children below 3.

This means PLN 12 thousand for the second and subsequent child aged from 12 to 36 months – without the income criterion. What is important, parents will decide on their own what to spend money on and whether they want to receive PLN 500 per month for two years or PLN 1,000 for one year.

Draft act in the Sejm

On 17 September, the first reading of the draft act on Family Care Capital was held in the Sejm.

– Polish family is in centre of attention of the Polish government. We want to continue building a state of prosperity that will meet the European standards – this strategy is the plan of intense, strategic development assumed by the Polish Order – emphasised the Minister of Family and Social Policy, Marlena Maląg, during her speech in the Sejm. She added that Family Care Capital was an instrument that would help parents combine professional work with family life.

In turn, the Deputy Minister of Family, Barbara Socha noted that this proposal “solves the eternal problem of maintaining nursery care and envisages that thanks to this self-governments will be more interested in creating new care facilities for the youngest children”.

The process of accepting, granting and paying applications will be dealt with by the Social Insurance Institution. The solution is to enter into force on 1 January 2022. In the first year of its functioning, about 615 thousand children are to benefit from the support.

Co-financing of stay in the nursery also for the first children

The Act on Family Care Capital also provides for introducing permanent co-financing for the functioning of care facilities for children not covered by family care capital, e.g. the first children in the family. This co-financing will amount to PLN 400 per month per child in a nursery, children’s club or day-care facility, but will not be higher than the amount of a fee incurred by parents. The income criterion will not apply here as well.

The solution will be effective as from 1 April 2022, while co-financing will be granted, with compensation, from 1 January 2022. This form of support will cover about 110 thousand children.

Higher expenditures on the “Toddler+” programme

It is also planned to expand the ministerial programme for the development of care for children below 3 – “Toddler +”. It will consist in integrating various sources of co-financing, i.e. in addition to national funds, also the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the European Social Fund+, which will be allocated for creating and functioning of care facilities.

Today, the budget of the programme amounts to PLN 450 million per year, after the changes it will amount to as much as PLN 1.5 billion per year.