The German Child Protection Association (DKSB) is concerned about the shortage of skilled workers in day-care centers and the shortage of teachers in schools. The educational director of the DKSB in Bavaria, Alexandra Schreiner-Hirsch, complained that far too few staff had to cope with an extremely challenging job. This not only leads to exhaustion, frustration and long periods of illness among the professionals, but also to the fact that the children are not sufficiently recognized and protected. “As long as children and young people experience physical and mental violence in their parents’ homes, day care centers, schools and in their free time in Bavaria, what we are doing is not enough,” emphasized Schreiner-Hirsch.
In order to ensure the protection of children and young people, cooperation at the interfaces between medicine, child and youth work, law enforcement and the judiciary is also necessary. The DKSB therefore welcomes the fact that the judiciary in the Free State wants to intensify its protection concept. According to the Ministry of Justice, the aim is to expand a Bavaria-wide network to protect children. Minister of Justice Georg Eisenreich (CSU) will present the new concept and the competence partner for the Munich Higher Regional Court district on Monday.
Overall, according to the DKSB, child protection is not only lacking in jobs, but also in money. In addition, the demand is greater than the supply, which has become particularly clear with the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. There are currently a large number of facilities and measures in Bavaria, such as child protection centers, anti-bullying programs in schools and anti-aggression training. The Children and Youth Strengthening Act, which came into force in June of this year, has also further improved child protection. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of room for improvement with all the measures in the Free State.
According to the Bavarian State Office for Statistics, the youth welfare offices in Bavaria reported 19,587 risk assessments for children and young people last year. The value corresponds to a minus of nine percent in 2020. 9942 boys and 9645 girls were affected. According to the statistical office, 2548 risk assessments revealed an acute and 2680 a latent risk to the welfare of the child. Signs of neglect, psychological or physical abuse were among the most common reasons.