Drunk mother endangers baby: what now for the child?

Drunk mother endangers baby: what now for the child?

A poignant incident shocked bathers on a beach in the Lake Constance district: a drunk mother left her baby crying unprotected in the sun in the sweltering heat and even approached the water unintentionally. We are currently checking what will happen to the child after bathers and the swimming master intervened and the police were alerted. They immediately informed the youth welfare office, which is now planning how to proceed. Loud Schwäbische.de These incidents are alarming, but legal hurdles to removing the child are enormous.

The youth welfare office is in close contact with parents to ensure that such incidents do not happen again. In Germany, the removal of children is a profound intervention in the family system and parental rights. According to Book Eight of the Social Code (SGB VIII), it is the responsibility of the youth welfare offices to make such assessments. The youth welfare office must check whether less drastic measures are not sufficient before the child is placed in an out-of-home care facility.

Legal framework

The legal framework is clear: children can only be removed from their living situation with the consent of their parents; This often happens as part of an application for parenting assistance. However, in an acute emergency, the youth welfare office can act quickly and the family courts will review the decision subsequently. There are currently 176 children and young people in an external environment in the Lake Constance district, 13 of whom have been taken into temporary care while the situation is clarified.

Additionally is loud BMFSFJ the Child Protection Act, which was passed on November 27, 2024, is an important step towards inclusive and protective child and youth welfare. These measures aim to promote the development of children and young people and to support parents in their upbringing.

Taking into care and child welfare

Incidents like the one in Friedrichshafen show the importance of being taken into care, which is the right of children and young people to seek help in acutely dangerous situations. The youth welfare office is obliged to act if there is an urgent threat to the child's well-being. Children are taken into care provisionally in suitable foster families or other facilities, with the aim of clarifying the crisis and developing a perspective.

Statistics show that a total of 37,880 children and young people were taken into regular care in 2022, with 29,800 of the cases due to an urgent risk to the child's well-being. Three quarters of these measures remained in place for a maximum of two weeks before a decision was made on how to proceed. Loud kinder-jugendhilfe.info The child's well-being is always given top priority whenever it is taken into care.

In this complex situation involving child welfare, it is now important to make the right decisions. Youth welfare office specialists are required to work in dialogue with parents and find solutions that benefit the child and can avert future dangers.