• The statutory network offers opportunities to further improve and advance child protection.
• Youth welfare offices, health authorities, doctors, police, schools, daycare centers, independent providers and local politicians are all working together to identify risks more quickly and ensure that help is available without gaps.
• Three network coordinators in the Department of Youth and Schools bring the threads together at the City of Aachen.

"Child protection is a task that plays a role in many areas of society. It plays a role in schools, kindergartens and, of course, in youth facilities. But it also plays a role in the police, the fire department, in the neighborhood or in sports clubs. Wherever children appear and live, they deserve and need our protection," says Aachen's Lord Mayor Michael Ziemons, clarifying his understanding of child protection. For all municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia, the State Child Protection Act (based on Section 9) legally stipulates the establishment of a "Child Protection Network". The kick-off event for the foundation took place in Aachen this week. Ziemons opened the event in the Coronation Hall of Aachen City Hall and explained to the media why a legal requirement in this case is also an opportunity for the city: "It's really about working together differently and better and taking a step forward in terms of content. This is our way of dealing with the issue as a city."

The aim of the network is to better protect children and young people - through legally compliant and close cooperation. Youth welfare offices, health authorities, doctors, police, schools, daycare centers, independent providers and local politicians are all pulling together to identify risks more quickly and provide seamless help. A strong signal for a community of responsibility and active child protection on the ground. Tobias Grundmann, Head of the Youth and Schools Department, is certain that Aachen has a very good basis for this: "We have been developing and continuously improving standardized processes for over two decades." But he also sees further opportunities here: "Our task now is to intensify cooperation on the basis of a new law. In the past, processes and cases have become increasingly complex, which is why we need more players." And: "We have a guarantor position here: child protection is our duty, but we can only manage it together. Everyone who works with children should keep an eye on the issue and get to know our processes." He has no doubt that this will succeed: "I am thrilled with how many people came together at the launch. I witnessed many active discussions. Overall, it was an all-round successful event!"

However, the network also serves to coordinate common needs in municipal child protection - for example with regard to further training, child protection standards and the further development of interdisciplinary cooperation. A key element is a steering group that meets regularly and is made up of representatives of existing topic-related working groups. This steering group serves as a link between the specialist committees and the professional groups involved so that information and concerns can be exchanged and developed in a circular manner. On this basis, the City of Aachen plans to offer thematic conferences in the future in order to network professionals, evaluate concepts and address current developments in child protection.

City of Aachen coordinates
"Let's expand the community of responsibility in child protection - legally secure and beyond jurisdictional boundaries. The various stakeholders in child protection need to know each other's working methods and boundaries so that they know exactly what the respective agencies need in order to be able to act effectively in child protection," says Melanie Palmen, the network's main coordinator at the City of Aachen's Youth and Schools Department, explaining future tasks. She is supported by Silvia Alles and Johanna Paul. "We are the internal and external point of contact for all questions relating to child protection. We also carry out awareness-raising and training sessions and want to raise awareness of the steps to be taken in the event of suspected cases, even among volunteers," continues Palmen. Grundmann cites specific figures that illustrate the importance of child protection and raising awareness: "In Aachen, we have around 1,100 reports of child endangerment every year, and around 240 to 250 cases of taking children into care as a last resort. There is a nationwide shortage of places for placement, but in Aachen, placement has always been successful! This is also due to the good contact and cooperation with the responsible institutions and agencies."

Legal structure laid down
Horst Hütten, Head of the "Preventive Youth Welfare" department of the City of Aachen, once again classifies the law and the role of the network: "What is essentially new about the legal basis is that a legal structure for cooperation has now been laid down and the implementation of the network has been added to the duties of the youth welfare office. Overall, more cooperation partners have been named and the ability of these and the youth welfare office to act has been expanded." His assessment: "This is a clear further development of the legal framework. Whereas previously laws often had to be weighed up against each other, the cooperation partners now have clearer authorization to work together."

Joint task of child protection
Child protection is a joint task and an expression of a community of responsibility. Protecting children effectively means that all institutions, professional groups and social actors involved work together in a legally secure manner across jurisdictional boundaries. Through coordinated action, mutual exchange of information and a shared understanding of responsibility, children and young people in Aachen can grow up safely. Lord Mayor Michael Ziemons sums it up clearly once again: "We are all called upon not to look the other way in our environment! That is why it is important to draw attention to the issue of child protection. Anyone who contacts the new network can be confident that their reports will be met with professional structures."

Concrete goals

• Improving the transfer of information between all relevant stakeholders in child protection
• Mediation and coordination of action steps in accordance with § 8a SGB VIII (protection mandate in the event of child endangerment) and § 4 KKG (law on cooperation and information in child protection)
• Identification of needs in child protection, e.g. further training, cooperation, services
• Strengthening understanding of the working methods and responsibilities of all professions involved

Contact
Stadt Aachen
Fachbereich Jugend und Schule
Kinderschutzkoordination
Mail: kinderschutzkoordination@mail.aachen.de