Berlin (epd). The new President of the German Child Protection Association, Sabine Andresen, criticizes the lack of political will in the implementation of the planned basic child protection. “There is a risk that those who are threatened by poverty will not be given targeted help, but that the money will be spread widely again, so the watering can will be used again,” said Andresen of the Bayern media group (Friday).
“There is still a lack of political will to implement a comprehensive concept such as that of basic child security,” emphasized the President of the Child Protection Association. In view of the increase in child poverty, Andresen said that it could not be in the interests of society from an economic point of view to let such a large proportion of children and young people grow up in poverty. Every fifth child in Germany is affected by poverty.
There is no evidence whatsoever for the well-known prejudice that parents use the money to fight their children’s poverty for themselves. “Parents want the best for their children. I don’t see why that shouldn’t also apply to poor parents,” said Andresen.
Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) said last week that she was counting on a speedy agreement on the introduction of basic child security. She was “optimistic that we will soon be there,” she said after the spring conference of the youth and family ministers of the federal states in Potsdam. The talks in the traffic light coalition on the concept and financing have not yet been completed. The central adjusting screw is the question of how the subsistence level should be defined.
According to the plans of the coalition, the basic child security should be paid out from 2025 and bundle previous family benefits such as child benefit, child allowance and support for education and participation. At the same time, access barriers for families are to be removed.