GERMANY
LEGAL AND POLICY CONTEXT
In recent years the number of unaccompanied
and separated children registered 1 in Germany
has increased dramatically: from 2,822 in 2010
to 42,309 in 2015. Although these numbers
began to drop in 2016, they remain very high 2 .
In January 2016, 60,162 unaccompanied and
separated children were registered and placed
in care in Germany. The majority of these chil-
dren are from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Eritrea
and Somalia. Only around 9% are below the age
of 14 and a further 20% are between 14 and 15
years old, while the majority are adolescents
between the ages of 17 and 18. Only 10% are fe-
male. In North Rhine–Westphalia alone, 13,211
unaccompanied and separated children were
registered with youth welfare services in 2016,
compared to 12,805 in 2017 3 . Unaccompanied
and separated children are usually placed
in either foster care or group homes. Some
municipalities and local authorities have no
previous experience of working with this group
of children, which has prompted the need to
recruit and train volunteer guardians.
Guardianship responsibilities are exercised by
(a) the staff of local youth welfare offices; (b) the
staff of guardianship associations licensed and
monitored by youth welfare offices; (c) self-em-
ployed individuals registered with the courts;
or (d) volunteers recruited by youth welfare
offices. Volunteer guardians are not paid, but
they are compensated for the expenses associ-
ated with the performance of their duties once a
year 5 , and certain expenses can be claimed back
by volunteers from their agencies. Local youth
welfare offices are responsible for the recruit-
ment, training, supervision and monitoring of
volunteer guardians.
Under German law, a maximum of 50 children
can be assigned to a professional guardian
(i.e. an employee of a youth welfare office).
Volunteer guardians usually are responsible
for one or two children only, whilst individuals
who work as professional guardians are usually
assigned ten to 15 children. The actual number
of cases per guardian may also depend on the
personal circumstances of the child.
Under German law, when parents are unable to
care for their children, a guardian is appointed
in court 4 . In the case of unaccompanied and
separated children seeking asylum, a guardian
should be appointed within three days of arrival.
1 _ An unaccompanied child is defined as a person below the age of 18 years old who arrives in Germany from abroad without a parent or a legal
guardian.
2 _ “Unbegleitete Einreisen Minderjähriger aus dem Ausland lassen Inobhutnahmen 2015 erheblich ansteigen“, Federal Office of Statistics, Press
release N. 268, 2 August 2016, https://www.destatis.de/DE/PresseService/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/2016/08/PD16_268_225.html.
3 _ As of 1 April 2016 and 23 June 2017 respectively. For more information, see: “Versorgung, Betreuung und Unterstützung von unbegleiteten
ausländischen Minderjährigen (UMA)“, Rhineland Region, 1 April 2016, http://www.lvr.de/media/wwwlvrde/jugend/service/arbeitshilfen/
dokumente_94/jugend_mter_1/landesstelle_nrw_1/FirstSpirit_1459754652044TL_UMA_Nordrhein-Westfalen_2016-04-01.pdf;
“Handreichung zum Umgang mit unbegleiteten minderjährigen Flüchtlingen in Nordrhein-Westfalen 2017”,
Ministry of Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport of North Rhine-Westphalia & Ministry of Interior and Municipal Affairs of North Rhine-
Westphalia, https://www.mkffi.nrw/sites/default/files/asset/document/handreichung_2017.pdf; “Leitfaden zur Umsetzung des vorläufigen
Verfahrens zur Verteilung von unbegleiteten minderjährigen Flüchtlingen in Nordrhein-Westfalen”, Ministry of Family, Children, Youth,
Culture and Sport of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2015,
https://www.mfkjks.nrw/sites/default/files/asset/document/leitfaden_vorlaeufiges_verfahren_zur_verteilung_von_umf_nrw_0.pdf.
4 _ Art. 6 para. 2 GG, § 1774 BGB, § 1 para. 1 SGB VIII.
5 _ On the legal framework see also: Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, §§1773-1895, §1773 para. 1 and §53ff, SGB VIII.
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