Secretaria-Geral do Ministério do Trabalho, Solidariedade e Segurança Social

From 1 September 2022, crèches will enter into force free of charge for all children born on or after 1 September 2021 who attend crèches in the social and solidarity sector (regardless of the room they attend).

By 2024, free crèches will be implemented in a phased manner, increasing annually another year of crèche covered, up to all children of the social and solidarity network. The children, now covered by free of charge, keep it for all the years they are in the daycare.

The goal is to reach 100,000 children by the end of the implementation of the measure (2024).

"Free crèches are a decisive and priority measure for the country, both in the fight against child poverty, promoting integration and equal access to opportunities and breaking poverty cycles, and in the promotion of a policy of support for families, especially for young people who need support and conditions to stay in Portugal, to become independent and start a family", says Ana Mendes Godinho, Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security.

The agreement established between the Government and the representative organizations of the Social and Solidarity Sector (Union of Mercies, CNIS, Confecoop and Union of Mutual Societies) highlights the establishment of a prioritization in the allocation of places for children:

• disabled and/or incapacitated; the most deprived families;
• whose parents are primary informal carers;
• single parents or large families whose parents live or work in the area,
• as well as the mandatory integration of children flagged at risk by the Commissions for the Protection of Children and Youth or by the Courts, with indication of frequency in crèche.

The established free of charge includes all the pedagogical activities developed (except for extra pedagogical project activities), food, registration and insurance costs, as well as the costs for periods of extended opening hours.

From 1 September 2022, for all children born from 1 September 2021 (including) who attend crèches in the social and solidarity sector, the government will assume the amounts of the contributions that are currently paid by families.

Currently, the Social Security pays 293 euros for each child attending the crèches of the social and solidarity sector, and families pay an additional variable contribution amount.

With the implementation of free of charge, the Social Security also assumes the differential value of the contributions that were borne by the families, that is, the total technical cost of the answer in the amount of 460 euros.

See the Ordinance that regulates free of charge published on July 27.

Source: Government Portal