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ofSilvia Bielert
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shut down
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The youth welfare office recorded no significant increase in child welfare risk during the pandemic. 917 families received preventive home visits.
During the pandemic that has been going on since mid-March, the youth and family department of the Offenbach district has “not registered any significant increases in the number of child welfare risks”. This is communicated by the district administration.
The General Social Service had received a total of 388 reports about possible child welfare risks, a quarter of which were anonymous. Further information came from schools, kindergartens and the medical sector. According to the district, the reports from the schools are even “below average” compared to the “Evaluation report on social work from the school year 2016/17”. There were just 28 reports from schools suspected of endangering the welfare of the child; There are said to have been 120 cases in 2016/17. Possible causes could be school closings at times, distance learning and the restriction of social contacts as well as the associated lack of control, it is said. Students may find it more difficult to confide in teachers.
“When the pandemic started in mid-March last year, we immediately set up a task force that has been permanently on duty in the field and visits families in compliance with hygiene and distance rules,” says district councilor Carsten Müller (SPD). In order to identify potential child welfare risks in “stressed and overwhelmed families” at an early stage, the task force and other specialists from the General Social Service were “in close contact with families, daycare centers, schools and the entire network of helpers”. “We showed a greater presence and had a lot of families in mind,” continued Müller. 917 families with almost 1,400 children were “checked” at home. In addition, the task force visited almost 240 families who had not come to the pediatrician for a check-up. There were no warning letters for this. In addition, the General Social Service encouraged specialists who teach older children and look after children under the age of six last year to continue to maintain a lively exchange with the children.
The district’s youth welfare office wants to analyze the experience gained during the pandemic and consider “which working methods can be established”.
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