Topic Family & Social Affairs

For quantitatively sufficient and qualitatively good offers

A forward-looking city worth living in should recognize the concerns of its residents and implement them in a citizen-friendly manner. Families are the largest group, consisting of children, young people and adults, working people, job seekers and senior citizens. Strong families create cohesion across all age groups. It must therefore be the task of our city to improve the well-being of all and help people to help themselves by providing sufficient and high-quality childcare, open child, youth and family support services and advisory services. The basis for this is integrated social area planning, which is geared towards the needs of citizens and existing facilities in order to derive the need for action for future activities. For the implementation and fulfillment of these sovereign duties, it makes use of the independent providers of the social economy. These should be given a better financial structure in order to be able to work in line with demand.
 
What we want to achieve:
We will not be able to turn the administration upside down, but we will ask (unpleasant) questions and make demands:
Before the budget applications for the areas of youth and family support are made by the Youth Welfare Department, the annual discussions with the providers must be held. Only on the basis of their professional assessment of the situation “on the ground” can needs-based budget planning take place.
Better financial and personnel resources for the open services offered by independent providers. At least 1.5 staff positions should be made available in every family center and similar facilities.
Simplified application procedures in the area of grant and subsidy funding and the processing of arrears: applications are often not approved until after the start of the year, and settlements are only approved 10 years later.

Prevention instead of intervention

The number of outpatient and inpatient educational support services and the need for school support workers has been increasing for years. These are mandatory services provided by the local authority. This results in additional work both within the administration and at independent child and youth welfare organizations. The resulting increase in the need for specialist staff cannot be met and many individual cases are only dealt with late. We see the greatest opportunity to reduce the number of cases in strengthening open counseling and support services for children, young people and families, which focus primarily on group services. The open services are staffed by expert social workers and educational specialists. Here, citizens with various problems can find low-threshold advice and help for self-help. Many go on to volunteer themselves and support others along the way. Strengthening these structures is essential and leads to better solidarity within the urban population and a reduction in problematic situations, which can even lead to the break-up of family structures.

Contact person: Thomas Hartmann

Effective use of existing resources

Child and youth welfare budgets are limited and do not grow as quickly as the needs of families. In addition, the wage and inflationary developments of recent years pose further challenges for the budget. With hourly rates of around €80 or daily rates of up to €400, outpatient or inpatient educational support is relatively expensive and often lasts several months or years.
Preventative services are much cheaper due to their structure. Combining individual problems with group offers results in a further cost-saving effect. On average, over 75% of the costs of such services are covered by the staff on site. Better funding for existing projects means that more people can find easy access and receive help and are therefore less reliant on individual help. As a result, these forms of help can be between 50% and 80% cheaper.

Contact person: Thomas Hartmann

Efficient use of existing resources

The city of Cottbus finances a wide range of services of various kinds. This takes the form of grants, subsidies or fees. These services are partly refinanced through compensation payments from the state, subsidies or the city’s own funds. What we lack is a clear, objective view and communication of the effectiveness of the various services. Blanket increases in funding amounts, an outdated, rigid division into urban areas and complex application and billing procedures are met with a lack of engagement with the needs of citizens and the content of existing services.

Contact person: Thomas Hartmann

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