The case of 18-year-old Hania Barczak from Łódź, who died of bone cancer before a panel determined the level of support she needed, has resurfaced in the debate on the support benefit. The Ministry of Family is working on an amendment to the act.
What has been established in Hania’s case
Hania Barczak was suffering from a malignant bone tumour. As media reported, the date of the team meeting that was to determine the level of her need for support – a condition for granting the support benefit – was set only after her death. The girl’s mother, who founded the “Wierni Fani Hani” foundation, responded to an office letter by writing that she was giving “Hania’s new address – the cemetery”.
The act on the support benefit provides it for people from the age of 18 who have a decision establishing the level of need for support. Without such a decision, the application cannot be processed.
What the ministry is announcing
The Council of Ministers adopted a review of the act’s application, along with recommendations, on 16 October 2025. According to the Ombudsman for Children (communication of 23 September 2026), the family ministry replied that work on changes is under way at the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Persons with Disabilities, and a request to include the draft amendment in the list of legislative works of the Council of Ministers is being prepared. The ministry also indicated that the procedure for determining the level of need for support can be started after the age of 16.
The government description of priority P43 (“Streamlining the social benefits system”) lists, for 30 June 2026, a request to add the amendment to the act on the support benefit and the act on vocational and social rehabilitation. For the third quarter of 2026, referral of the draft to inter-ministerial and public consultations was planned.
Family Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk told TVN24 that the act itself is right but requires amendment, and announced it still within this term of office, along with further steps to shorten waiting times.
What changes are planned
According to the ministry, the amendment is primarily meant to streamline the procedures for issuing decisions and improve their quality. Announced solutions include: shortening the waiting time for a decision on the level of need for support, strengthening supervision of decisions and eliminating cases of incorrect assessment, changing the point values assigned to activities, and simplifying the benefit calculation mechanism, which currently has six financial thresholds. It was also announced that the benefit will not affect income for the rehabilitation tax relief, and that the options for paying pension contributions will be expanded.
As of publication, no text of the draft amendment has been published, nor a date for its submission to the Sejm.
