Eight years after the introduction of the so-called education and participation package, the money will benefit only a few children in Hartz IV.
"At least 85 percent of the beneficiaries still do not benefit from this service," says a study. It involves state subsidies for sports clubs, music schools, lunches, school supplies or school trips and excursions.
"The education and participation package is and remains botched and goes completely by the life reality of adolescents and the local structures over," said the chief executive officer of the Association, Ulrich Schneider, according to a statement. The previous Teilhabeleistungen are dependent on the fact that there are even suitable offers on site.
The numbers had not changed in the year comparison and were "devastating". Only every seventh 6- to 15-year-olds benefit from the benefits. According to the association, data from the Federal Employment Agency were evaluated for the investigation.
more on the subject
Accordingly, major regional differences can be seen: in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the so-called participation rate is highest, in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland the lowest.
Does a legislative amendment improve the situation?
At the local level, there are very different administrative procedures for implementing part-delivery services, according to the study. In most of the municipalities, it is not possible to get them to the child and the adolescent. The problems have been known for a long time. In the past, complicated application procedures were repeatedly criticized.
analysis
In August this year, by law, simplifications and increases in grants came into force. How these affect, but only at the next data analysis in the coming year, it was said.
The association calls for an abolition of the education and participation package and an end to participation vouchers. Instead, there should be a flat-rate payment of 15 euros per month. In addition, the promotion of participation for children and young people should no longer be organized by the job center, but by the local youth welfare offices. In the long term, the parity, as well as other associations, the SPD, the Greens and the Left, are in favor of a basic child protection scheme in which state benefits for children and adolescents are brought together.