Gaps in child and youth welfare services

Independent agencies play an important role in placing children in foster families. According to research by NDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, one of them in particular is under fire. Blatant gaps in the child and youth welfare system have been revealed. 

By Sinje Stadtlich and Michel Krasenbrink, NDR

"Tantrum outbursts related to homework, slamming doors. That was how he started in the first six months of his stay with me," says Wolfgang Müller. He's standing in the kitchen of his terraced house near Hanover, pointing at the wooden frame that has come loose from the glass door. His name has been changed to protect the children.

Müller talks about his foster son, who moved in with him in 2022 with his younger brother. Both children had already been in various foster homes at the time and were exhibiting severe behavioral problems. Müller says he wanted to offer a stable home to children in need. However, the youth welfare office in his Hanover region refused to grant Müller a foster care permit at the time, partly because his "financial basis" was not secure. Müller had previously lost his job.

Severely traumatized

He then turned to an independent agency, where everything moved very quickly. "There was little in-depth discussion during the initial interviews," says Müller. The company is called Weplace and is a so-called independent provider of child and youth welfare services based in the Osnabrück district. According to the company, its focus is on children and young people with "particular developmental disabilities." Wolfgang Müller's two brothers, then five and eight years old, ended up with him through Weplace.

After just a short time, Müller realized that the children were severely traumatized and exhibiting very challenging behavior. Müller was overwhelmed in many ways. He asked his designated family counselor from the Weplace organization for support, sending urgent messages via chat. The counselor was supposed to visit him regularly and help him care for the children. But he didn't receive the necessary support from the counselor, Müller says today.

Doubts about suitability

The operator, Weplace, declined to give an interview, but ultimately agreed to respond in writing to questions from NDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung through a lawyer. In the Müller case, Weplace disputes his statements. Specifically, it states, "the alleged circumstances are untrue and incorrect." The consultant fulfilled her consulting mandate "fully and in the agreed manner."

Things escalated repeatedly between Müller and the brothers. After a few months, the younger foster son had to move out again. He was placed with the next foster family. It was yet another relationship breakdown. Wolfgang Müller now wonders whether he was even suitable to take in these two challenging boys. The independent agency Weplace apparently considered him suitable and placed the brothers from Hesse on behalf of the Giessen district youth welfare office. When contacted, the office replied that they had relied on the agency Weplace in their assessment of Wolfgang Müller. 

Reports of problems

In Germany, youth welfare offices are actually responsible for placing children in foster families or homes if they cannot remain with their biological parents because they have experienced violence or abuse there. Some youth welfare offices outsource foster child placement to so-called independent agencies. These agencies search for and assess foster families on behalf of the youth welfare offices and provide them with advice and support.

Formally, however, responsibility still lies with the youth welfare offices. Many agencies are doing a good job, according to a joint investigation by NDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung. However, there are also cases where problems arise. The name Weplace appears repeatedly.

NDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung randomly surveyed more than 30 youth welfare offices about their experiences. Some said they worked well with Weplace. For example, Gladbeck reported "consistently positive" experiences. However, many reported difficulties. The Göttingen district reported evidence that Weplace "does not always adequately assess the resilience of family systems." A protocol from the Wolfenbüttel Youth Welfare Committee from May 2024 states: "Weplace does not cooperate with the locally competent and responsible youth welfare offices."

Lack of communication and control

Information is lost especially when children come from another district and are placed through independent agencies, says Frank Dreßler, First District Councilor of the Goslar district. His own youth welfare office does not work with external agencies, but handles the placement of foster children itself. Nevertheless, children were placed with families in his district through the agency Weplace – initially without the knowledge of the Goslar youth welfare office.

By law, the so-called sending youth welfare offices—those in the child's place of origin—are required to inform the local youth welfare offices, but there is no obligation to do so. And agencies like Weplace do not cooperate with the local youth welfare office, reports Dreßler.

He sees fundamental problems in the structure: "That's the system: The youth welfare office is in distress. The youth welfare office is willing to pay a lot of money to have the child placed." The agency can negotiate higher rates for families than is usual for youth welfare offices. Furthermore, the agency enjoys greater independence "with no state control," says Dreßler.

Contradictory information

Dreßler experienced a case in which two children were placed through Weplace with a family that was already caring for two foster children for the Goslar Youth Welfare Office, even though the Goslar Youth Welfare Office had advised against it. There are different versions of what happened next and why. What is clear is that the Youth Welfare Office ultimately took several children from the family into care.

Weplace generally denies that it does not cooperate with the youth welfare offices. In the Goslar case, the youth welfare office "refused to cooperate with our client and boycotted the case." Meanwhile, the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office is investigating the foster parents on suspicion of mistreatment of their wards. The proceedings are still in their early stages.

Strict criteria

Cases like these demonstrate that when there's a lack of information exchange, it's ultimately the foster children who suffer. To ensure stable foster care arrangements for children, the "Westphalian Foster Families" association—a coalition of around 50 independent providers—works according to strict criteria. These include a requirement for skilled professionals and the stipulation that, as a rule, no more than two children are placed in one family, says Imke Büttner. She is responsible for foster care at the Westphalian State Youth Welfare Office and explains: "It's assumed that foster parents' resources aren't infinite." Some foster parents overestimate themselves and want more children, even if this isn't professionally advisable.

Foster mother Katharina Schulze (name changed) felt pressured by some of her Weplace counselors to take in additional children. They also pointed out how much money she would receive for additional foster children: "They said directly: 'Wow, if you get €3,000 for one child, just think about it. You're taking in siblings, and you already have one child. Then you're spending almost €10,000 a month for three children in total.'"

Katharina Schulze submitted a sworn statement regarding her statements. Weplace contradicts her accounts: "The corresponding information is false and fictitious," they state in writing.

Accepted failure?

NDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung were able to speak with former Weplace employees. Several of them stated that, in their opinion, Weplace's priority was to quickly place as many children as possible in families. One of them reported that, in her opinion, the failure of foster care arrangements was accepted: "These terminations could have been prevented if the family had received comprehensive and good preparation." Weplace writes that, in general, it is only possible to prepare families for foster care to a limited extent, and, in addition, the dropout rate at Weplace is lower than usual in the industry. The provider provides no evidence to support this statement.

Hubert Meyer, managing director of the Lower Saxony District Council, has now received complaints from several municipalities about the work of some independent providers. He has forwarded them to the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs and is demanding that youth welfare offices "be obligated and immediately informed when children in their area are placed in foster families."

In a statement from December 2024, the Federal Council also pointed to "gaps in protection" in this area. In response to an inquiry from NDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs wrote that it now wanted to "evaluate" the effectiveness of the regulations in this regard.