Status: 17.09.2021 10:12 a.m.
The number of cases of child welfare risk in Germany increased in 2020 compared to the previous year. Schools and daycare centers reported significantly fewer cases during the closings as a result of the corona pandemic in spring.
In the entire Corona year 2020, the youth welfare offices in Germany found that 60,551 children and adolescents were at risk – around ten percent more than in the previous year. This was announced by the Federal Statistical Office. In the case of a further 66,557 minors, the authorities came to the conclusion that although there was no risk to the child’s welfare, help or support was necessary. The affected children were younger than twelve in 70 percent of all cases.
At times significantly fewer reports from schools
Before the first corona lockdown in 2020, experts warned that some of the child protection cases could go undetected due to the school and daycare closings. According to the statisticians, the breakdown by month now shows that the number of reports actually fell sharply.
Accordingly, the number of child protection cases reported by schools fell from March to April 2020 from 1476 to 674 cases. This halved the value not only compared to the previous month, but also compared to April of the previous year with 1435 cases. In May 2020, the number of child protection cases reported by schools, at 729, was still only about half as high as in May of the previous year with 1433 cases.
“In April and May 2020 in particular – one month after the first corona-related school closings in March and April – the child protection cases reported by schools were well below the previous year’s level,” said Manuela Nöthen, expert on child and youth welfare statistics at the Federal Statistical Office.
More information from the population
Daycare centers also reported fewer cases of child welfare endangerment and cases of need for help or support to the youth welfare offices in April and May of last year. With 422 child protection cases, the information from daycare centers in April 2020 was more than a third lower than in the previous month and April of the previous year. The same was true for May. In June 2020, the number of cases then significantly exceeded the previous year’s figure.
“The statistics thus confirm the assessment of various experts that fewer cases of child protection were reported from the education and care facilities in the course of the lockdown in spring 2020,” said Nöthen. In May the numbers rose again, and in the summer the number of cases approached the previous year’s values again.
In contrast, the population seems to have become considerably more vigilant in the Corona year 2020: Compared to 2019, reports from relatives, acquaintances, neighbors and anonymous reporters increased by a total of 9,100 cases, which corresponds to an increase of 21 percent.