The youth welfare offices in Germany have to look after more and more young people in need of help, even though there is a lack of skilled workers. This can have dramatic consequences, in the worst case it can be a matter of life and death.
Daycare groups have to be merged because there is a lack of educators. Classes in schools are repeatedly canceled due to a lack of teachers. What is less widely known to the public is that youth welfare offices, social services, homes or residential groups for minors also suffer from a dramatic shortage of skilled workers. The Child and Youth Strengthening Act, which came into force in mid-2021, was actually intended to better support girls and boys from stressful environments.
The reality is different. “We can no longer guarantee child protection in some places,” says Kerstin Kubisch-Piesk. The Berliner is chairwoman of the Federal Association of General Social Services (ASD). She represents the employees in the approximately 560 youth welfare offices in Germany, which, among other things, take care of child protection, family counseling and the accommodation of unaccompanied minor refugees.
In recent years, the tasks and case numbers at the ASD have grown, but at the same time there is a lack of staff, complains Kubisch-Piesk, who has been working in the youth welfare office for around 30 years. According to an analysis by the German Economic Institute in Cologne, social workers, along with educators, have the largest skills gap of all professions.
70 to 80 families at the start of the career
Some young colleagues have to look after 70 to 80 families when they start their careers, reports Kubisch-Piesk. “We have to prioritize, and we often can’t make as many home visits as necessary.” In some cases, it can no longer be ensured that after reports of suspected child endangerment, each case is assessed by two people, as required by the standards.
In 2022, the youth welfare offices took a total of 66,300 children and young people into temporary care for their protection. This was an increase of 18,900 cases, or 40 percent, compared to the previous year. The Federal Statistical Office has not yet published more recent figures. We hear from practice that the situation has worsened again – also because the number of unaccompanied minor refugees has continued to rise. The youth welfare offices are responsible for these young people.
Youth welfare offices usually only make the headlines when cases are misjudged. Mistakes can have fatal consequences. In the case of four-year-old Fabian, who was killed near Hanover, it became public during the trial against the mother and stepfather that the stepfather, who had since been convicted of murder along with the mother, was known to the youth welfare office.
The case triggered reforms in child protection
He is said to have abused his former wife and her son. In this context, the authorities may have received information about mistreatment of the children of the man’s new partner. For this reason, the Hanover public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation against an employee of the youth welfare office. It’s about suspicion of bodily harm in office through omission, says a spokeswoman for the prosecution.
The death of two-year-old Kevin in Bremen in October 2006 caused nationwide horror. Police discovered the child’s body in the refrigerator of his drug-addicted foster father. Kevin died months earlier, his body showing signs of numerous abuses. An investigative committee and court proceedings revealed failures of the authorities. The Bremen Youth Welfare Office was in charge of Kevin’s death at the time of his death. The case triggered reforms in child protection.
There are now a large number of legal regulations, but what use are they if they cannot be adhered to in practice? When children or young people have to be removed from their families for their own protection, it is often difficult to accommodate them. A colleague called 50 facilities looking for a place, says Kubisch-Piesk. Younger children in particular should ideally be accommodated with a caregiver, but this is rarely possible.
What does the “System Sprenger” group do?
It is particularly difficult to find places for children and young people with particularly challenging behavior – so-called system busters. For over ten years, there has been a “system buster” association in southeast Lower Saxony, in which six youth welfare providers cooperate to prevent measures from being stopped early and young people having to move from facility to facility.
The AWO Braunschweig is a large provider in the network; it has a total of 170 inpatient youth welfare places. However, due to the additional personnel effort, only a few of these can be given to so-called system busters. “If we have places available, it’s only because we don’t have the staff to take in children and young people,” reports Nils Borkowski, head of the youth and educational assistance division. “We could currently fill every space multiple times. Not a day goes by when we don’t receive inquiries from all over Germany, from Bavaria to Schleswig-Holstein.”
The providers also complain about a “catastrophic shortage of skilled workers,” as Borkowski says. Social workers have a variety of job options and, according to him, they are increasingly choosing not to work shifts in a residential group. In contrast to a kindergarten, a residential group cannot reduce its opening times or close it for a day. “This is the children’s home,” emphasizes Borkowski.
How do young people live in a residential group?
Nine young people between the ages of 14 and 19 live together in an AWO residential group in the northwest of Braunschweig. Three boys, four girls, two are transgender. On the floor above there are apartments for young people who are preparing to become independent. There is a day group for six to twelve year olds under the roof. A 19-year-old trans person who has lived in the facility since 2021 says she experienced trauma in her family. “I was able to relax here.” At the same time, an adult is always available. The 19-year-old likes to draw and paint in her free time, and another plays the guitar. The group also cooks together or plays games on the Playstation.
“If the youth welfare system fails, it has dramatic consequences,” Borkowski points out: “For the little ones it’s a matter of life and death, for the older ones it’s a very unhealthy lifestyle.”
Heike Wiemert is dean and professor with a focus on child protection at the Catholic University of North Rhine-Westphalia. According to their analysis, the situation in the youth welfare offices has continued to worsen. Experienced employees are leaving due to age, and there is a lack of staff to train young specialists. “At the same time, staff fluctuation is at its highest,” reports the scientist.
What is necessary is monitoring the need for skilled workers in the ASD and educational assistance, expanding state-financed dual study places for social work and qualifying career changers, says Wiemert. She regrets that students are currently being used as full-fledged workers in the general social service to compensate for the lack of skilled workers.
Researcher fears further losses in child protection
The researcher complains that children and youth policy is too often made based on budget and that children do not have as strong a lobby as the automobile industry. “This year, given the tariff increases, municipalities will not be able to avoid further savings in child and youth welfare if no relief is offered by the federal or state governments,” fears Wiemert. “Further losses in child protection are to be feared.”
A year ago, employees from youth welfare offices and youth welfare services had called for a child protection summit under the leadership of the federal government. Now several associations – including SOS Children’s Villages – are organizing such a meeting themselves on April 9, 2024 and have invited Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) to it. According to a ministry spokesman, protecting children is the “top priority” for the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs. The ministry has been providing support in securing skilled workers for years.