Child Protection

• Situations dangerous to a child’s well-being
• Assistance when a child’s well-being is at risk
• Emergency telephone services
• Prevention
• The child protection network
• Early assistance
• Support programmes

Children must be able to develop in as healthy a way as possible. They need care and protection against all threats to their well-being. Parents are responsible for the care and upbringing of their children and must ensure that children’s fundamental rights are safeguarded. The governmental community makes sure that parents perform this task adequately.

If parents fail to fulfil their child-raising duty, governmental agencies will ensure that the children are protected against neglect and abuse. Every adult who is concerned about the well-being of a child should in the child’s interest inform the state youth welfare service. If there are concrete indications of an endangerment to a child’s welfare, the youth welfare office is entitled and even obligated to examine the living situation of the young people affected and to act accordingly.

There are two tasks for the youth welfare office that result from this protection mandate:

1. Strengthen and support the parenting responsibility of the parents, for example, through counselling, support and assistance with parenting.
2. Take measures to protect the child (intervention), for example, by taking custody of the child or procuring a judgement on custody by the family court.

For healthy development, children and young people need the right diet, physical care, health care, emotional attention, supervision and protection as well as encouragement from their parents or guardians. A child’s well-being is always at risk if these basic needs are not met at all or not met sufficiently.

Endangerment of a child’s well-being

A child’s well-being is at risk if the behaviour of parents or other individuals in families or institutions (for example, residential homes, day care centres, schools, clinics) adversely affect the well-being and rights of a child. This can occur through active action or failure to take reasonable care. The standard for this are socially established norms and a well-founded professional assessment. The consequences can be injuries, physical and mental damage or developmental risk to a child or adolescent. Infants and young children are particularly affected.

Neglect

Neglect is all types of failure to ensure necessary care. In the event of neglect, the children or young people do not receive the measures necessary for their survival and well-being or receive them inadequately. These measures include clothing, personal hygiene, medical care, undisturbed sleep, age-appropriate attention, protection and supervision by parents or caregivers, care and support. This neglect negatively affects and harms the children or young people.

Physical violence

Physical abuse is characterised by direct violence to the child or young person, in particular by hitting, kicking, shaking, burning, choking, causing chemical burns, inflicting stab wounds, exposure to cold, etc. Most physical abuse leaves visible marks on the skin.

Psychological violence

Mental or psychological violence are attitudes, feelings and actions that lead to a serious impairment of a trusting relationship between the child and their caregivers. Here the mental and emotional development of the child into an independent and life-affirming individual is hampered. Mental violence is exercised by threatening violence and neglect, yelling, insulting, mocking and debasing as well as by expressing feelings of hatred or demanding the child neglect or abuse others.

If you are concerned about the well-being of a child or young person, please contact the following offices personally, by phone, in writing or by e-mail – also anonymously – for a confidential consultation:

• Child and youth health service of the health department

• Regional social educational service of the youth welfare office

These offices are legally obligated to treat the information from the consultation and the personal data as strictly confidential. All reports that indicate that the physical, mental or emotional well-being of a child or young person is at risk will be followed up immediately. The offices will provide quick assistance in acute cases. As a precautionary measure, the causes will be clarified together with those affected. Parents will be offered counselling and specific assistance so that they become aware of their care and child-raising tasks.

If there are indications that a child’s well-being is at risk, the responsible agencies will take action immediately:

• They will follow up on information about risks to the child’s well-being and take a close look at the situation of the child or young person at risk.
• They will assess the endangerment situations.
• They will hold discussions with the family and all collaborating partners.
• They will activate family resources.

The youth welfare office will act by

• Developing an assistance and protection concept,
• Calling the family court, if necessary,
• Initiating a medical or socio-educational diagnosis and
• Supporting the family by helping them with child-raising.