How Much Does Germany’s Child and Youth Welfare Cost?

In 2013 spending on child and youth welfare in Germany amounted to € 35,5 billion. It has thus increased by 72 per cent over the last ten years. A comparison between Germany’s sixteen states shows the regional differences within the country. For example, there are only five so-called “proceedings to assess whether a child is at risk” per thousand under-18-year-olds in Lower Saxony, but almost 17 cases in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and as many as 23 in the city state of Bremen. There are also great differences in the amount and structure of such expenditures. In Berlin, for example, spending per child or teenager is twice as high as in Schleswig-Holstein. The expenditure per case or service provided also varies considerably. A look at specific areas of expenditure reveals, for instance, that the cost of each case of child guidance and parental counselling in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania is ten times as high as in Lower Saxony .