The Ministry of Family and Social Policy presents the assumptions of the new edition of the Toddler+ programme
30.11.2022
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki together with Marlena Maląg, Minister of Family and Social Policy, presented the assumptions of the new edition of the Toddler+ programme. “We want every parent, even in the smallest commune, when they decide to take up professional challenges, to have no problem finding a modern and friendly place where their child will be properly cared for. Now we are in sixth gear and we significantly increase the funding of the programme” – says Marlena Maląg, Minister of Family and Social Policy.
The Toddler+ programme for the following years has been subject to social consultations. As part of the programme, nurseries and children’s clubs are established, renovated or equipped, and places at day carers’ are created.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Minister Marlena Maląg emphasised during the press conference that parents of children under the age of three can count on special support from the state in childcare, so that they have the right conditions to combine professional activity with parenthood, if they wish.
Balancing professional and family responsibilities can be a challenge when children are still very young. We do everything to ensure that new care facilities are established in Poland, and the existing ones develop dynamically. We care about modern places, close to home. This is the key to ensure that parents do not postpone the decision to work for the next months or years – emphasises Minister Marlena Maląg.
So far, the Toddler+ programme has operated on an annual basis, now it will have a long-term nature. Its budget under the new edition is planned at PLN 5.5 billion. As a result, the number of places for the youngest children in Poland will increase by 102,000. There are currently 8,000 nurseries and children’s clubs, with approx. 228,000 childcare places for children up to the age of three. In 2015, there were 3,000 fewer facilities of this type, that offered care for only 84,000 children.
The programme is addressed primarily to gminas, and secondly to other entities establishing care facilities for the youngest children. It allows not only for professional activation of parents, but also for increasing employment.
In the new edition of the programme, gminas will have three years to complete the task from the date of announcing the grant award. The funds can be used not only for the reconstruction or renovation of buildings or adaptation of rooms to the children’ needs, but also for the purchase or installation of equipment. Local governments will receive up to PLN 837 monthly for three years to co-finance the operation of an existing place for the youngest children.