Berlin's Family Centres: An Innovative Community Initiative
A Tale of Berlin's Family Centers and the Looming Funding Crisis
Following the tumultuous New Year's Eve riots in 2022/2023, Berlin's state politics rattled with the need for youth work intensification. Among the measures proposed was the establishment of Family Centers in every elementary school. However, it appears these very same centers are currently under threat as they face severe funding cuts.
"We're looking at a reduction in basic funding from 120,000 euros to 88,750 euros," laments Benjamin Adler, head of the department for school-related social work at Tandem BTL. Adler oversees the family center at Hermann-Boddin elementary school in Neukölln, operating in partnership with the school. Ironically, this family center hosted the ceremonial handover of the Berlin Family Report to Senator of Education Katharina Günther-Wünsch (CDU) in the spring.
Adler explains that Family Centers offer low-threshold help for parents, addressing topics such as mobile phone use, non-violent education, separation issues, and child health. They aim to make parents an integral part of the school community. Cutting these centers can be likened to slapping the educators and support staff who contributed to creating a nurturing learning environment, Adler argues.
According to the 2025 budget, all family centers at elementary schools face a staggering 500,000 euros cut, representing a quarter of their funding. As a result, Adler's worker's hours have been reduced from 39.5 to 33 hours, and another social worker had to reduce her working hours from 15 to 4.5 hours.
The Advisory Board for Family Matters has voiced stinging criticism against the reduction of model projects in the Berlin Family Report. The board's statement highlights that, despite challenging circumstances, the experts at schools successfully activated previously hard-to-reach parents. They argue that to achieve the promised quality, a substantial increase in financial resources is needed.
"The only thing we know for certain is that cuts will continue," Adler laments about the uncertainty over the family centers' future funding. He voices frustration with the Senate's lack of transparent communication, demanding professional discussions about the consequences of these cuts.
To draw attention to the threat against these vital community resources, the operator of the family center at the Boddin primary school initiated the action "Letters to Kai." Over 3,000 personal letters from children, young people, and those affected were sent, expressing the indispensability of social services like these. Regrettably, Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) and Senate representatives were absent during the delivery of these pleas.
The Senate's Administration for Education did not respond to inquiries from the press by the time of publication. The looming uncertainty over the family centers' future remains undeniably worrying for those striving to create safe and supportive learning environments for Berlin's children.
"The funding cuts to Berlin's Family Centers, originally intended to promote education-and-self-development and involve parents in schools, are causing concern in the realm of general-news, as they threaten the nurturing learning environment provided by these centers."
"Despite the critical role family centers play in engaging hard-to-reach parents and promoting non-violent education, politics in Berlin are currently considering reducing funding for these projects by a significant amount, which could potentially limit their effectiveness and impact on the community."
