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Cottbus is planning a paradigm shift: realigning youth welfare!
Cottbus is planning to restructure youth welfare services with a focus on prevention and support, despite planned cuts.
Cottbus is planning a paradigm shift: realigning youth welfare!
There is currently exciting news about youth and family support in Cottbus. The city is planning a comprehensive restructuring that will particularly focus on preventive approaches. Mayor Tobias Schick describes this as a “paradigm change”. This initiative is no coincidence, as recent budget cuts have sparked numerous protests and public debate. The city wants to provide assistance earlier in the future in order to reduce cost-intensive individual measures in the long term.
Cottbus estimates around 45 million euros annually for legally required educational aid, which has increased significantly in recent years. In order to counteract this development and ensure sustainable support, the city plans to reallocate resources and invest more money in preventative measures. Around 420,000 euros are planned for campaigns with independent providers in order to continue and realign existing youth and family support offers.
Protest against cuts
Despite these new plans, the agreed cuts remain in place. But the city administration has announced that it will not only continue the offers, but also adapt them. The focus is particularly on the eleven self-managed youth clubs, which should continue to receive support. At the same time, migration social work and family support will be continued.
On October 22nd, numerous citizens demonstrated against the cuts in front of the town hall. An online petition supports the Youth Welfare Committee's motion AT 36/25, which calls for the cuts to be reversed and the new youth welfare planning to be used for future budget decisions. The Youth Welfare Committee argues vehemently that preventive measures can reduce costs in the long term. The application is currently being discussed intensively in the responsible specialist committees.
The Cottbus administration is optimistic that this change towards more prevention is necessary and will have positive effects. The city's commitment, despite financial challenges, is a step in the right direction and will hopefully soon bear fruit.