A shortage of skilled workers in the youth welfare office: Red alarm level in the Neckar-Odenwald!

A shortage of skilled workers in the youth welfare office: Red alarm level in the Neckar-Odenwald!

What moves the Neckar-Odenwald district? A look at the General Social Service (ASD) shows that the specialists in child and youth welfare are under considerable pressure. On June 11, 2025, Susanne Eichler, head of the youth welfare department, and Pascal Heffner, specialist service manager of social services, informed the youth welfare committee about the precarious personnel Situation. The shortage of skilled workers particularly affects areas such as child protection, educational aid and family counseling. As reports nokzeit, the high level of responsibility, emotional pressure and constant stress at work play a major role.

A high sick leave also tightens the situation. Heffner emphasized that despite the challenges of child protection for the families concerned must remain guaranteed. Initial measures to stabilize the situation have already been taken: job advertisements have been opened and a temporary labor market allowance was introduced. In addition, internal structures will be adapted and stable cases will be offered in the future.

relief from outpatient help

To further support the ASD, it is planned to introduce outpatient help from the circle. The service in Mosbach has so far been successfully maintained. District Administrator Dr. Achim Brötel praised the work of the ASD and emphasized the need to secure stability in social work. The members of the committee also paid tribute to the extraordinary commitment and the importance of multifunctional teams in social service.

Particularly positive news is available from day care: the funding was extended by the end of 2026, and the multi -generation house in Mosbach will take over the organization of child day care in cooperation with the district administration from 2024. Here the district provides around 130,500 euros for personnel and course costs, and there is also 5,100 euros for further training. An additional basic qualification course is also offered, for which the multi -generation house receives a flat rate of 10,000 euros.

direct challenge: shortage of skilled workers

The situation in the Neckar-Odenwald district is not isolated, but reflects a wider trend in Germany. According to [dji.de] (https://www.dji.de/ueber-uns/personal deficiency/wachender-personalbangel-in-der-kinder-und-jugendhilfe.html), a growing shortage of skilled workers in child and youth welfare is troubled. The current report "Specialist Barometer Early Education 2023" shows that between 20,400 and 72,500 specialists in daycare centers, especially in the West German federal states.

The reasons are diverse: high workload and unattractive working conditions ensure that fewer and fewer people start into this occupational branch. The recognized studies and articles on this topic also emphasize the need for measures to improve training and work boxes. The Conference of Ministers of Culture has already decided on a bundle of measures to make the training of socially educational specialists more attractive.

In addition, there is a growing gap between open spots and the range of qualified specialists. While more specialists are expected to be trained than needed in the East German countries, things look very different in the West German federal states. The shortage of skilled workers could cost around 199,000 educators throughout Germany by 2030, which indicates an alarming development education server.