Vocational and social rehabilitation for people with disabilities is ineffective

During the period under review, the funds for this purpose came mainly from the State Fund for Rehabilitation of the Disabled (PFRON), which nevertheless did not check either what effects the projects implemented with the donated money had, or whether it had been properly spent. The NIK audit also showed the low effectiveness of vocational activity centers supported by local governments and the inadequacy of their activities to meet the needs of the labor market. In turn, the short time allocated for the implementation of the commissioned tasks prevented NGOs and foundations from ensuring continuity of rehabilitation for people with disabilities, which is one of the conditions for its effectiveness.

At the end of 2021, nearly two million people over the age of 16 in Poland had a significant or moderate degree of disability (data from the Electronic National Disability Assessment Monitoring System). In 2019-2022, for the vocational and social rehabilitation of such people, PFRON transferred to local governments, in accordance with the algorithm set out in the government regulation, more than PLN 1.2 billion a year, of which one-fifth went to provincial governments. In total, they received PLN 645 million in the period under review.

A significant portion of the money used - almost 70% of the PLN 631 million - was transferred by the provincial governments to vocational activity facilities (ZAZ). Construction work on facilities for the rehabilitation of people with disabilities (with the exception of demolition of these facilities) consumed almost 25% of the funds transferred by PFRON. In the five inspected provinces of Łódź, Mazowieckie, Podkarpackie, Śląskie and Wielkopolskie, most of the submitted projects were carried out thanks to them.

The least amount of funds from PFRON - just over 6% - the provincial governments transferred to foundations and NGOs for commissioned tasks in the period under review. In the case of the audited local governments, the needs significantly exceeded their financial capabilities, which meant that they subsidized less than half of the bids submitted.

Admittedly, there are no regulations that would allow PFRON to allocate funds for individual needs reported by local governments, but it is the Fund's Board of Directors that prepares the draft annual financial plan on the basis of which it disburses money for the rehabilitation of people with disabilities.

PFRON also covers the costs of servicing tasks carried out by provincial governments, in an amount not exceeding 2.5% of the funds used for this purpose. According to the Rehabilitation Act, these should be costs actually incurred, but the provincial governments do not have to show in their reports whether this has happened. PFRON transferred the money for handling tasks together with the funds for their implementation, i.e. before they were spent, and did not verify what they were used for. It was limited only to calculating whether local governments exceeded the statutory level (in the period under review it was 2.4%). However, the need to verify the cost of handling tasks is indicated by the case of the Silesian Provincial Office, which, although it did not exceed the designated level, spent a total of about PLN 342 thousand in an unintended manner. This financed, among other things, the organization of Christmas fairs, picnics and sports competitions, construction investments and training for employees of vocational activity centers.

Although PFRON transferred money to provincial governments in accordance with the correctly calculated algorithm, it did not take into account the effectiveness and efficiency of previously provided support when distributing funds, as the NIK has shown. In 2019-2021, the Fund did not carry out any inspections in the provincial governments regarding tasks carried out for people with disabilities. PFRON only monitored the reports submitted by local governments, which, however, are not required to provide detailed information in them on the effects achieved. According to the NIK, the lack of regulations does not mean that PFRON cannot supervise the expediency and effectiveness of the use of money given to local governments. The Fund is the author of the template for material and financial reports (Sp-W) and can modify it to obtain the necessary information.

Low effectiveness of vocational activity establishments

An occupational activity facility (ZAZ) provides employment for people with severe and moderate disabilities who have been diagnosed with autism, mental retardation or mental illness. They require special, so-called protected working conditions. People who have reached a certain level of vocational rehabilitation are placed in ZAZ, while an ZAZ employee, having reached the next level, should move to work in the open market. The costs of creating and operating such establishments are co-financed, from PFRON and their own funds, by provincial governments.

In 2019-2021, the operating costs of the 12 audited vocational activity centers totaled about PLN 157 million and increased by 24% during this period, while the amount received from PFRON through the provincial governments only increased by about 19%.

In total, local governments transferred more than PLN 62 million to the audited facilities from PFRON, and about PLN 5 million from their own funds. However, the share of funds transferred from PFRON decreased during the period under review from 40.5% in 2019 to about 39% in 2021, as a result of which the provincial governments had to dig deeper into their own pockets - the share of these funds in the amounts transferred increased from 2.5% in 2019, to 3.7% in 2020, before falling to 3.4% in 2021.

It should also be added that in 2019 none of the audited establishments operating in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship received subsidies from the local government's own funds, which had not planned for this in its budget. In turn, the local government of the Silesian Voivodeship unjustifiably differentiated the ZAZs operating in its territory in terms of subsidies. Of the two establishments audited by the NIK, one did not receive any local government funds for its activities during the entire audited period, while the other received PLN 166,500 per year. The Chamber points out that the prohibition of discrimination in social and economic life stems from the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, and the granting of public support on the basis of uniform, predetermined criteria is a model of reliable action.

Another problem is the timing of the transfer of funds by PFRON, which prevented some provincial governments from subsidizing the costs of ZAZ operations within the timeframe specified in the regulations. Three of the five audited, transferred funds from 4 to 38 days after the deadline, which could hamper the operation of the facilities and affect their liquidity.

However, in spite of this, the number of people employed in vocational activity centers has steadily increased. In 2021, it amounted to 6054 nationwide, an increase of 15% compared to 2019. This, however, does not change the fact that the importance of Vocational Activity Establishments in the system of vocational rehabilitation of people with disabilities is marginal. At the end of 2021, out of almost 2 million people over the age of 16 with a severe or moderate degree of disability, only 0.3% were working in ZAZs.

In the 12 audited plants, the number of people employed between 2019 and 2021 increased by a total of 15% - from 817 at the end of 2019 to 940 at the end of 2021, including people with severe disabilities by almost 10%, while those with moderate disabilities by 22.5%.

The average length of employment at the inspected establishments was six years - ranging from an average of two years and two months at the ZAZ run by the "I-TY-MY" Social Support Association, to more than 10 years on average at ZAZ Promyk.

The regulations obligate ZAZs to conduct rehabilitation activities for their employees for at least 60 minutes a day, outside of working hours (in two of the inspected establishments it was also conducted during working hours). However, the regulations do not specify what such activities are supposed to consist of, so any event involving an ZAZ employee can be considered a rehabilitation activity. The audited facilities thus defined training, vocational counseling, consultations with a nurse, music therapy, improvement exercises, therapeutic talks or therapeutic massages, as well as trips to the pool and integration meetings in this way. In the opinion of the Supreme Audit Office, such freedom of interpretation leads to a decrease in the quality of rehabilitation services provided at the AIF, which is why, according to the Chamber, changes in the regulations are necessary.

It is clear from the Rehabilitation Act that the goal of vocational activation for people with disabilities is to make it easier for them to obtain and maintain suitable employment, as well as to advance in their careers. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of vocational activation carried out by ZAZs during the period under review was low, despite an increase in the number of establishments and their employees. Of the people with disabilities working in ZAZs nationwide, only about 2% took up employment on the open labor market during the period under review, while in the case of the inspected establishments, about 17% of those ending up working there.

Also, data obtained from 51 vocational activity centers (out of 55 operating in the inspected provinces) show their low effectiveness regarding vocational rehabilitation:

2019:

• 2299 ZAZ participants were employed in 51 establishments,
• 250 people have completed their work,
• 47 people moved to the open labor market (2% of the total participants and about 19% of those completing the job);

2020:

• 2476 ZAZ participants were employed in 51 establishments,
• 276 people terminated their employment,
• 45 people moved to the open labor market (about 2% and about 16%)

2021:

• 2600 ZAZ participants were employed in 51 establishments,
• 233 have completed their work,
• 43 moved to the open labor market (about 2% and about 18.5%).

These figures, in NIK's opinion, indicate not only the low efficiency of the ZAZs, but also the inadequacy of their activities to meet the needs of the labor market. One reason for this situation may be that the facilities did not develop plans for employing their employees on the open labor market - seven of the 12 audited ZAZs did not have such plans.

The overall low effectiveness of vocational rehabilitation was also influenced by the adaptation difficulties of ZAZ employees related to the degree of their disability, the barriers and concerns of employers from the open labor market, and the limited cooperation with district labor offices, which should refer people with disabilities to ZAZ.

Short timeframe for implementation of outsourced tasks

During the period under review, foundations and NGOs submitted nearly 800 proposals to the audited provincial governments covering projects related to the vocational and social rehabilitation of people with disabilities. The implementation of these proposals was expected to cost a total of about PLN 44 million, but local governments subsidized less than half of the projects for just over PLN 19 million.

Within the framework of the commissioned tasks in the five provinces covered by the audit, projects involving various types of support were carried out during the period under review. Nearly PLN 6 million (about 31% of expenditures on mandated tasks from PFRON funds) were transferred to conduct rehabilitation of people with disabilities in various types of institutions. The smallest amount of funds was spent by provincial governments on organizing and conducting integrated activities for the inclusion of people with disabilities in the labor market (other than ZAZ) - about PLN 1 million (about 6%).

However, it was not only the lack of sufficient funds that was a problem in the implementation of vocational and social rehabilitation projects for people with disabilities. For although, according to the agreements concluded, a total of about 32,000 people with disabilities were planned to be covered by the projects, and in the end more than 37,000 were covered, due to the too short duration of the projects, the support was only temporary and its effects were not lasting.

In fact, local governments provided grants from PFRON funds through open competitions, which stipulated that projects would be implemented for a minimum of 29 and a maximum of 131 days. The deadlines were due, among other things, to the fact that the competitions could be announced after the distribution of funds by the provincial assemblies, and this occurred only after obtaining information on the amount of money that PFRON would give them.

According to the NIK, the too-short implementation period of the projects did not allow planning sustainable activities and adversely affected the quality of the tasks implemented by NGOs, since continuity of rehabilitation is one of the conditions for its effectiveness. In the Chamber's opinion, it is necessary to change the regulations so that local governments can also commission multi-year tasks.

Construction work - effective and sustainable

In accordance with the Rehabilitation Act, provincial governments also subsidize construction works relating to facilities for the rehabilitation of people with disabilities (with the exception of demolition of these facilities). In 2019-2021, the five audited local governments received 227 applications for subsidizing construction works from PFRON funds for nearly PLN 118 million, while the local governments planned for slightly more than PLN 58 million for this purpose and eventually covered 160 applications with a total value of about PLN 56 million.

The NIK gave a positive assessment of the effectiveness and sustainability of the civil works projects. However, the chamber's auditors found significant irregularities in the Silesian province. Six of the 12 contracts examined, worth a total of about PLN 6 million, were concluded despite the fact that the applicants did not meet the requirements specified by the regulations. The reasons for these irregularities were mainly inadequate organization of work and allowing employees who did not have the necessary experience to verify applications.

Applications

In connection with the results of the audit, the NIK has filed villages with the Minister of Family and Social Policy, among others.

On taking legislative action to:

• Specifying in Article 35 (1) (3) of the Rehabilitation Law the scope of information on the activities carried out, the period to be covered and the deadline for its submission to the Plenipotentiary;
• Requiring governors to provide information on the granting or loss of occupational activity establishment status by organizers to the relevant units of provincial governments.

On the introduction of amendments to the ordinance on ZAZ, and aimed at:

• specifying in § 10 of the Ordinance the deadline for making an annual accounting of the use of Fund resources by the relevant organizational unit of the provincial government;
• Defining the term "rehabilitation activities" as referred to in § 12 of the regulation by, for example, creating a catalog that includes types of rehabilitation activities.

On the introduction of amendments to the Algorithm Ordinance, which will enable provincial and county governments to plan and commission tasks in the field of vocational and social rehabilitation in multi-year periods, e.g. by introducing provisions similar to the content of §9(2b) of the Ordinance on construction works, concerning the implementation of construction works, according to which the conclusion of an agreement for a period longer than 1 budget year requires the consent of the provincial assembly in the form of a resolution.

Source: NIK