The signed agreements concern two programmes: ‘Respite Care’ and ‘Care Services for Disabled Persons’. Both programmes are financed from the Solidarity Fund.

Respite Care

‘Respite Care’ is a programme aimed at relieving caregivers in the performance of their everyday duties, e.g., by providing them with support in the performance of current duties or ensuring a replacement that will allow caregivers to have some time for themselves.

The programme is addressed to communes and counties. It plans support for family members taking care of disabled persons with a diagnosed severe level of disability and with equivalent certificates and children with diagnosed disability.

‘Many families with persons having the most severe levels of disability had no support. Thanks to this programme, we are able to offer them time for rest,’ said Deputy Minister Wdówik, who is also the government plenipotentiary for disabled persons.

The agreement signed on Friday concerns the determination of the amount of funds for the implementation of the programme, which totals PLN 1,187,905 and the procedure for transferring this amount to the governor of the Małopolska province.

Care Services for Disabled Persons

The second agreement signed on Friday concerns the programme ‘Care Services for Disabled Persons’. Under this agreement, Małopolska will receive exactly PLN 588,284 for the implementation of the programme.

Its aim is to ensure support for disabled persons in the form of care services, including specialised services, and to increase access to these services.

The programme allows communes to extend their offer of care services for disabled persons up to the age of 75 having a diagnosed severe level of disability and children up to the age of 16 having diagnosed disability with indications of the need for permanent or long-term care or support from another person due to the seriously limited ability to live independently and the need for permanent daily participation of the child’s caregiver in its treatment, rehabilitation and education process.

During his visit to Małopolska, Deputy Minister Paweł Wdówik met the plenipotentiaries of Kraków universities for disabled persons and the participants of drama classes and disabled actors in the Occupational Therapy Workshop run by the Klika Association.