Full time care
According to German social law, full-time care is one of the aids in bringing up a person that replaces the field of life ( § 27 , § 33 SGB VIII ). It means the temporary or permanent placement of a child in a foster family or an educational institution . Also unaccompanied minors can be accommodated within the full-time care ( § 33 SGB VIII ). Both forms of out-of-home care enable the child to grow up in a family system. Full-time care is also available in the elderly and in nursing, on a different basis .
reasons
Placing a child in full-time care can have several reasons:
On the one hand, there is either the need for a family system to separate a child, or the assessment by a youth welfare office or the family court that there is an acute risk to the child's welfare (see § 1666 BGB or § 42 SGB VIII ).
If underage refugees enter without their parents, they are unaccompanied and the youth welfare office has to act. The minors are usually accommodated and looked after in a child and youth welfare facility. Placement in full-time care is also possible.
On the other hand, instead of giving up a child for adoption , people are increasingly making use of the option of full-time care. Behind this stands the recognition of the importance for children to know their birth parents , even if they do not have the opportunity to grow up with them.
The reasons for wanting to have a child in foster care are complex. Usually the system of origin (family of origin) is chronically overloaded, so that the idea can develop that it is easier not to have to look after the child any more. Stressors can be: partner problems, drug problems, insufficient opportunities to develop compensatory resources (e.g. babysitter, family help), illness and much more
Foster family vs. Education Office
The main differences between full-time care in foster families and the education centers as small institutions according to § 34 are:
- Foster parents require a care permit in accordance with Section 44 of Book VIII of the Social Code . Education centers , on the other hand, as facilities, fall under the operating permit procedure according to Section 45 of Book VIII of the Social Code.
- A pedagogical training is a prerequisite for an education position .
- The educational center is regularly and intensively supervised by a specialist advisor. This advice can have features of both supervision and collegial advice. The counseling of foster families is provided by the foster child services in public or outsourced independent sponsorship.
Return to the family of origin
All educational aids are aimed at returning to the system of origin. Only if there are significant reasons against a return should other life prospects be developed (cf. § 37 SGB VIII ).
Measures to replace the field of life mean a great deal of stress for the children concerned, in particular through being detached from the familiar social environment, separation from previous caregivers and the unclear intention to return to the system of origin.
A difficult peculiarity is the problem that a child socializes in his environment and - depending on age and existing ties to caregivers - binds to the new caregivers. The termination of full-time care is then no longer possible after an (individually different) period of time without harming the child (in science, the average age of the child at placement is given as the upper limit for a reversible placement period. It should be noted that only in exceptional cases a decision is made against the will of older children) - to protect the best interests of the child in such cases, the order to remain ( § 1632 Paragraph 4 BGB) has been introduced, which includes action by the court ex officio. Careful planning and development of realistic future prospects is therefore indispensable for the well-being of the children and is prescribed in the assistance plan for full-time care via the youth welfare office .
Care allowance
For the care of the child, the foster family receives lump sums for material expenses, care and upbringing, graded according to the child's age. Any child benefit received reduces this amount by half the child benefit if the foster child is the oldest child, otherwise by 1/4 of the child benefit.
The lump sums are not nationwide. In Koblenz, for example, they are currently for children from 0-6 / 6-12 / 12-18 years of age for material expenses: € 508/589/676 / month and an additional € 237 / month for care, regardless of age. For 2018, € 522/592/676 are recommended for material expenses and an additional € 240 for maintenance.
The amount for material expenses and child benefit (if there are fewer than 6 foster children) are not counted as the parents' income. Only the amount for care is partially counted as income when receiving unemployment benefit II .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Foster families. Federal Association of Unaccompanied Minors, accessed on December 13, 2018 .
- ↑ Koblenz
- ^ German Association for Public and Private Welfare eV
- ↑ lwl.org
