If the County Office does not add PLN 32,000 to the funding for the children’s home, the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth will terminate its agreement to run the facility. This is the Congregation’s announcement. Meanwhile, officials earning as much as PLN 10,000 a month are counting every zloty spent on the grant for the Congregation very carefully.

“On behalf of the children, I cannot agree to being treated this way,” says Sister Director Agnieszka Wieczorek. “For the first time in six years, one of our charges has been admitted to university. We cannot afford to pay for a dormitory for this girl,” the sister adds, unable to hide her regret.

County Head Cezary Przybylski claims that the grant is sufficient and that the county office is not cutting costs at the expense of the children, despite the unavoidable austerity policy in other areas.

“We feel unjustly accused and blamed for the financial problems of the Children’s Home in Bolesławiec,” says Cezary Przybylski. “The children have always been treated by us with the utmost care.”

The Sister Director regrets that the matter is being presented this way. In her view, the grant money is used directly or indirectly solely to provide the children with good, comprehensive care.

The Congregation obtains additional funds for its charges from donors. In 2012, this amounted to approximately PLN 50,000—for food products, dental treatment, placing a child with fetal alcohol syndrome in a specialist facility, household supplies and equipment for the children’s home.

“Our charges cannot stand out from their peers in the school and preschool environment,” explains the sister. “We want to send the children to paid outdoor schools or on holiday trips. Every year, minor repairs and renovations to the rooms have to be carried out. The educators caring for the children cannot work for free; they need training. In 2012, we could not afford to pay for it,” she adds.

The county office believes that the Congregation of the Sisters voluntarily undertook to care for the children, fully aware of how much money the charges would receive from the county budget. Officials will not change the grant amount. The Sister Director declares that if the County Head does not add PLN 32,000 to the grant, she will begin the procedure to liquidate the facility in less than three months.

Until then, the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth are hoping to reach an agreement with the County Office, because they believe that all ambiguities can be clarified through peaceful dialogue and a friendly conversation.

Meanwhile, officials have begun carefully counting the positions of people working at the children’s home, adding up their salaries and considering the sisters’ financial management. They divide and multiply amounts using official conversion factors, stating them in thousands and millions. They do so reliably and meticulously. And in this way they take care of the children in the home.

Can taxpayers therefore expect county officials to be equally frugal when it comes to their own positions and salaries? And will they prescribe themselves the same treatment—salary cuts and staff reductions—as they prescribe to the people caring for psychologically wounded and physically neglected children deprived of a family?

Below is a statement by the Bolesławiec County Board concerning the operation of the Children’s Home of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth in Bolesławiec.

With regard to the unreliable information being circulated about the operation of the children’s home, the Bolesławiec County Board informs:

  1. The Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth undertook to run the children’s home and voluntarily accepted the jointly agreed rules and level of funding by signing the relevant agreement on 30 December 2011.
  2. The County Board—guided by concern for maintaining the children’s home in Bolesławiec and at the express request of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth—signed an agreement that made it possible to keep 30 charges there, even though, under the regulations, from 1 January 2012 children’s homes should have no more than 14 charges.
  3. Had it not been for the favorable decision of the County Board, the amount of the grant paid to the sisters would have been PLN 396,984 this year, whereas it currently amounts to PLN 850,680.
  4. It is significant that this year’s grant is PLN 22,336.80 higher than last year’s and will increase in subsequent years.
  5. It is worth emphasizing that the grant per child in the children’s home amounts to PLN 2,363 per month, while the grant for a child in foster care ranges from PLN 600 to PLN 800. In addition to subsidizing the charges of the children’s home in Bolesławiec, the county finances the upkeep of 236 children staying with foster families and in other facilities, spending PLN 2,399,432 annually for this purpose.
  6. We emphasize that the PLN 850,680 grant for the Bolesławiec children’s home should be used primarily for the children’s needs, not for maintaining the institution. The director of the children’s home is obliged to obtain additional funds for its operations.
  7. The Regulations of the Children’s Home of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth state: “The Director Sister independently obtains financial resources for needs related to the Children’s Home, acting within the applicable legal regulations and the powers established by the Managing Authority. In particular, sources of funds for the operation of the Children’s Home may include grants and subsidies provided by local-government bodies, foundations and non-governmental organizations, as well as donations from legal entities and natural persons.”

In conclusion, one might also ask whether the costs related to salaries and related charges—set by the Sister Director for herself and the remaining staff—should account for approximately 80% of the grant provided by Bolesławiec County. One may wonder whether the grant must cover the salaries of as many as 17 people working for 30 charges.

Despite the situation, the Bolesławiec County Board maintains its willingness to cooperate with the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth in Bolesławiec. The conflict does not serve the interests of the children at the Bolesławiec children’s home.

(information: GH)