Every disabled person should fully participate in social life. Effective social rehabilitation helps to motivate them to be more active socially. It supports their independent functioning and improves their individual resourcefulness. It restores their independence. The more effective integration of disabled persons in social life is also possible thanks to the liquidation of barriers, particularly architectural and communication barriers.

Thanks to financial aid from the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (PFRON), disabled persons may receive various forms of support that will help them function independently and integrate socially. Applications may be submitted by disabled persons or their caregivers in the county family support centre relevant to their place of residence.

Rehabilitation camps

A disabled person may apply for supplementary funding of costs of participation in a rehabilitation camp along with his/her caregiver once a year. Rehabilitation camp activities help disabled persons develop their social skills. Their psychophysical abilities improve, too. Thanks to a rich offer of activities, it is also an opportunity for them to develop their interests.

In order to receive supplementary funds for his/her rehabilitation camp, a disabled person should have a referral to such camp from the attending physician and meet the income criterion, i.e., earn the average monthly income that does not exceed the amount of:

• 50% of average remuneration per one person living in a common household,
• 65% of average remuneration in the case of a lonely person

PFRON provides also supplementary midnight for a caregiver of persons with a significant or moderate level of disability and of disabled person s until the age of 16.

In 2018, over 63,000 persons exercised their rights to supplementary funding of rehabilitation camps, including 21,000 children and your persons along with their caregivers.

 PFRON appropriated 65.6 million PLN for this purpose, which was over 10 million more than in 2015.

Rehabilitation equipment, orthopaedic items and auxiliary means of support

Disabled persons can also count on financial support in the purchase of rehabilitation equipment necessary for home rehabilitation that is not covered by the health insurance of the National Health Fund.

Orthopaedic items, which are so necessary for the independent functioning of a disabled person, are co-financed from the National Health Fund, too. They include, e.g., artificial limbs, crutches or wheelchairs. The same goes for auxiliary means of support that largely facilitate or even enable the functioning of a disabled person in a social environment, e.g., optical aids for the visually impaired, hearing aids or catheters.

Altogether, the amount of 151.4 million PLN was appropriated from the fund for the supplementary funding of rehabilitation equipment, orthopaedic items and auxiliary means of support in 2018. Almost 180,000 persons benefited from this form of support.

Liquidation of architectural, technical and communication barriers

Support is based on the co-financing of the liquidation of barriers preventing the independent functioning of disabled persons:

• architectural barriers – all obstacles occurring in the building and its nearest surroundings that make it impossible or difficult for disabled persons to move freely due to technical or structural solutions or conditions of use,
• communication barriers – obstacles that make it impossible or difficult for a disabled person to move freely or pass information,
• technical barriers – obstacles resulting from the lack of use or maladjustment of items or devices relevant to the type of disability.

In 2018, 17,200 disabled persons benefited from this form of support. The expenses for this purpose totalled 62.2 million PLN.

Active Local Government program

The Active Local Government program is addressed mainly to individual disabled persons. Only one of the program modules concerns local governments and non-governmental organisations. Disabled person may receive financial aid within the following scopes under the program:

• liquidation of the transport barrier (support in the purchase and assembly of car equipment, support in obtaining a driving licence),
• liquidation of barriers in access to participation in information society (support in the purchase of electronic equipment, its elements and software, co-financing of training course in the operation of electronic equipment and software acquired under the program, support in the maintenance of technical efficiency of electronic equipment),
• liquidation of mobility barriers (e.g., support in the purchase of an artificial limb in which modern technical solutions are used, support in the purchase of mobility scooters with an electric drive or electronic tooling for a hand-operated wheelchair),
• help in the maintenance of professional activity by securing care for a dependent person.

Support is addressed to a disabled person of professional age that has a significant or moderate level of disability, is professionally active and acts as a legal guardian of a child staying in a day nursery or a kindergarten or under any similar kind of care.

• support in obtaining higher-level education

PRFON’s funds are used for financing costs of education for a person having a significant or moderate level of disability who attends a school of higher education, a postsecondary school, a college or has been admitted to a PhD program outside doctoral studies.

Supplementary funding of services of an interpreter or an interpreter-guide and sign language courses

Disabled persons who have permanent or temporary communication difficulties are entitled to supplementary funding of interpreter’s services. A sign language interpreter helps deaf persons using Polish sign language or Polish language & sign system, and an interpreter-guide is trained in specific forms of communication and movement with the profoundly deaf (e.g., Lorm’s alphabet).

Within the scope of PFRON’s funds, it is also possible to co-finance sign language courses not only for disabled persons, but also for persons from their immediate environment (e.g., family members).