Assistance in plain language

Are you a mother or father raising your child alone?
Then you can apply to the Youth Welfare Office for assistance.
This means:
You will receive help from the Youth Welfare Office.
The person from the Youth Welfare Office is called: Beistand.

The advisor helps, for example, with:

• Clarifying paternity.
• Conversations with the other parent.
• Securing maintenance.

A guardianship is voluntary.

You can terminate the guardianship at any time.

• What does a guardianship help with?
• Who can get a guardian?
• Where can you get help?
• Where do you make the application?

The counselor can help you with various things.
For example:

• Clarifying paternity.

Who is the father of your child?
The counselor can find out.

• Secure maintenance.
  This means:
  The father or mother of your child must pay money for your child.
  Counsel can help you with this.

What tasks should the guardian do for you?
You can decide for yourself.

Important:

• The guardianship is voluntary.
• The guardian only supports you.
• You decide yourself.
• You retain the right of custody.
• This means:
  You take care of your child.
  You make the important decisions for your child.
• The help is free of charge.

You can apply for guardianship for your child if:

• You are a single parent.
• You have custody of the child.
• The child lives with you.
  Or you usually look after the child alone.
• The child is under 18 years old.
• You have sole or joint custody of the child.

You can then get a guardian for your child.

You as the mother or father may not be married.

In this case, you can also get a guardianship.

Important:

• The citizenship of your child does not matter.
• But your child must live in Germany.

You can get help from the Youth Welfare Office.

You can

• go there in person
• call
• or write an e-mail.

You can search for the youth welfare office in your city on the Internet.

The website is https://www.unterstuetzung-die-ankommt.de/de/das-sind-wir/jugendamt-vor-ort-finden/

Enter your postal code or your place of residence.

You will then receive all the information you need.

The page is not in plain language.

You can submit the application as follows:

• directly to your local youth welfare office
• online in some cities
  The website is https://www.familienportal.nrw/de/beistandschaft.
  The page is not in plain language.
• Or you can send the application by post.

You can find the right youth welfare office on the Internet.

The website is: https://www.unterstuetzung-die-ankommt.de/de/das-sind-wir/jugendamt-vor-ort-finden/

You can submit the application before birth.