Applying for upbringing assistance (Hilfe zur Erziehung)

It is a legal entitlement. § 27 Abs. 1 SGB VIII grants it to the person with personal custody of the child when two conditions are met: “an upbringing in keeping with the best interests of the child or young person is not ensured” and “the assistance is suitable and necessary for their development”. Whether these conditions are met is assessed professionally by the Jugendamt – and which type of assistance is the right one is decided together in the Hilfeplan procedure. But whether help is given at all is not at its discretion. That is why it is important to insist on a refusal being given in writing: you can lodge an objection against a notice.

That depends on the type of assistance, and the blanket answer “free” is wrong. Non-residential help – parenting counselling under § 28 and socio-educational family support under § 31 – is free of charge for the family; it is not listed in the catalogue in § 91 SGB VIII. For part-residential and residential help it is different: § 91 expressly names the day group (§ 32), full-time foster care (§ 33), residential care (§ 34) and intensive socio-educational one-to-one support (§ 35), and for these cost contributions are charged. They depend on income – § 94 SGB VIII provides for flat-rate amounts graded by income group and caps the contributions at the actual expenditure. Decisive: the assistance does not depend on whether you are able to pay.

No, not since 1 January 2023. In the past, young people in residential assistance were required to contribute up to 75% of their income; the Kinder- und Jugendstärkungsgesetz (Child and Youth Strengthening Act) reduced that to at most 25%, and with the Act Abolishing the Cost Contribution of Young People in Child and Youth Welfare (BGBl. 2022 I Nr. 56) this contribution was fully abolished – the former § 94 Abs. 6 SGB VIII has lapsed. Anyone living in a facility or foster family who is doing an apprenticeship keeps their training allowance in full. Older information citing 25% or even 75% is out of date.

It is the core of the procedure and is regulated in § 36 SGB VIII. Together with you and – in an age-appropriate way – with the child, the need is established, the suitable type of assistance chosen, and it is recorded in the Hilfeplan: with goals, the tasks of everyone involved, and a review at fixed intervals. What matters is that you are involved, not merely informed: your view and the child's belong in the plan. Read it before you sign, insist on corrections if something is wrongly presented, and have a copy given to you. You are allowed to bring a person you trust.

No. Upbringing assistance is a voluntary benefit that you can apply for and also refuse. Something different applies only if there is a risk to the child's best interests (Kindeswohlgefährdung) – in that case the family court (Familiengericht) can order measures, and that too is a decision for the court, not the Jugendamt. In practice, voluntariness is the rule and the court route the rare exception. If you consider an offered form of assistance unsuitable, say so and explain why: the point is to find assistance that works, and assistance begun against your will rarely does.

The assistance does not end automatically. § 41 Abs. 1 SGB VIII provides: “young adults receive suitable and necessary assistance” – since the reform, an entitlement and no longer a mere “should” provision (Soll-Leistung). It is granted “as a rule only until they turn 21”, but can be “continued beyond that in justified individual cases … ”. And the sentence that is least known: “an ending of the assistance does not rule out its renewed grant or continuation … ” So anyone who moves out, tries it alone and finds it does not carry them can come back. Raise the transition in good time – the law also requires a check one year before the planned end.

This cannot be answered in general, and that is exactly what the Hilfeplan procedure is for. Parenting counselling (Erziehungsberatung) (§ 28) is the lowest-threshold entry point, without a procedure and without a file. Socio-educational family support (sozialpädagogische Familienhilfe) (§ 31) comes to your home on a regular basis and works within everyday life – it is the most common non-residential form. The day group (Tagesgruppe) (§ 32) looks after the child in the afternoons, but the child still lives at home. Full-time foster care (Vollzeitpflege) (§ 33) and residential care (Heimerziehung) (§ 34) mean placement outside the family, while intensive socio-educational one-to-one support (§ 35) is aimed at individual young people with particular needs. Under § 27 Abs. 2, forms can also be combined. One note that applies to every page about this authority: a great deal here depends on the assessment of the individual case – on the specific family situation, the child's age and wishes, the professional judgement, and the practice of the particular Jugendamt. Where this page gives no fixed deadline or figure, that is stated deliberately – an invented figure would be more harmful here than an honest answer, because decisions about children follow from it.

First: ask for a written notice. A verbal refusal is nothing you can act against. You can lodge an objection (Widerspruch) against the notice; the deadline and the correct addressee are stated in the notice's instructions on legal remedies (Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung) – read them on the day you receive the notice, because the deadlines are short. In parallel, there are two routes that are less well known: the independent ombudsman offices for child and youth welfare, which give free advice and are not part of the Jugendamt, and a complaint to the Jugendamt's management. If your income is low, Beratungshilfe (advisory assistance for people on low incomes) with a personal contribution of €15.00 may be available for legal advice.