Jugendamt


Jugendamt is a German agency set up to promote the welfare of children. Each district or district-free city has its own Jugendamt. Its structure is flat, with no centralised coordinating office.
In Germany the youth offices were created during Weimar Republic by the Reich Youth Welfare Act of 1922, in force since 1924. Since the local organizations function independently there is no federal administrative supervision.

Statistics

The Federal Statistics Bureau shows a steep rise in the number of children with problems taken by Jugendämter yearly into safeguarding.
The main reason for this is the high number of unaccompanied child refugees, who are by law required to be taken into safeguard by a Jugendamt. Among the children more than 50% return to their parents within two weeks.

Similar organizations in other countries