Youngsters and juveniles in Leipzig: What's going on at the Youth and Family Services department?

The Leipzig Youth and Family Office, a significant player in the city's social landscape, is currently undergoing a period of transition and change.

In recent years, the overall social spending in Leipzig has been increasing linearly by 9-10% per year. However, within the youth office, the growth has been more modest, increasing by only 5%, a trend that is being actively controlled and managed through strategic measures.

Silko Kamphausen, who is also the managing director of the communal enterprise Engelsdorf, has been leading the Leipzig Youth and Family Office in an interim capacity since 2022, following the departure of Manuela Kastrup in February 2024. Felix Sauerbrey joined Kamphausen in this role, but Sauerbrey took over as the interim director in September 2023.

The Leipzig Youth and Family Office plays a crucial role in providing various services for children and families. These include childcare spots, parental allowance, help with challenging situations, BAföG outside of higher education, and children and youth welfare. The office's budget, particularly in the areas of children and youth welfare, is substantial, both financially and in terms of personnel.

However, the office faces several challenges. One of the main issues is the bureaucratic complexity and hurdles that make it difficult for parents to access certain services. This complexity also contributes to the office's inability to process new, complex laws in a media-compatible, digital, and citizen-friendly manner.

Another challenge is the unequal distribution of access to services across all social strata. Children from disadvantaged families benefit significantly from early childhood care, and an additional year of early childhood care positively influences the development of non-cognitive skills up to adolescence. However, due to the bureaucratic complexity, these benefits are not being evenly distributed.

Despite these challenges, there are opportunities for improvement. Investments in early childhood education have a macroeconomic return of around 11%, and a state return of 3% when quality-enhancing structural changes are made. Early supply in regular structures such as kindergarten can help reduce language development delays, particularly for children growing up bilingual.

The vision for the Leipzig Youth and Family Office is to become an inclusive, polycentric city in the area of youth welfare, with strong local neighborhoods and improved social cohesion on-site. This vision aligns with the broader goal of modern urban development, which aims to provide children and youth welfare services, family and educational counseling centres, offers of children and youth promotion, job centres, and social space offers within 15 minutes.

However, the office is facing budgetary pressures, and municipal politics may have to decide between areas such as culture, youth welfare, or economic promotion. The Leipzig Youth and Family Office does not receive reimbursement for the federal services it provides, and every implementation law is still being gilded. If the office does not set more on the care key and similar things in parallel, then the burdens in other social benefit systems may increase in the future due to this.

In conclusion, the Leipzig Youth and Family Office is a vital institution that faces significant challenges but also has opportunities for improvement. The office's role in supporting children and families is crucial, and efforts to address the bureaucratic complexity and unequal distribution of services are essential for ensuring that all children have access to the care and support they need.

Youngsters and juveniles in Leipzig: What's going on at the Youth and Family Services department?