PAN Foster and Adoptive Families NRW e. V.

For the rights of parents and children

Text last updated: 2025-12-08

A strong voice for foster parents and children

There are around 27,000 foster families living in North Rhine-Westphalia. The North Rhine-Westphalian State Association of Foster and Adoptive Families (PAN NRW e. V.) has been committed to the rights of these families for more than 20 years. The focus is particularly on the interests and needs of foster and adoptive children.

Familyportal.NRW asked the state association to briefly present its work, goals and commitment.

Logo PAN

What are the goals of PAN NRW e. V.

The association pursues the central goal of sustainably improving the lives of foster children and their families. The association is committed to ensuring that foster children find a reliable, stable and child-friendly environment and that foster families receive the support they need for this demanding task. This requires nationwide binding quality standards, a consistent focus on the best interests of the child and reliable support structures. PAN NRW would like to standardize the existing, often very different framework conditions, make grievances visible and initiate necessary reforms.

Who is the association addressing?

It is primarily aimed at foster, on-call and kinship foster families who take in foster children on a permanent or temporary basis. The association is also aimed at people who can imagine taking in a foster child, youth welfare professionals, guardians, courts, experts, the healthcare system and political decision-makers as well as the general public. Everyone who is responsible for or affected by the foster care system should benefit from the findings and contribute to the further development of structures.

How are the families supported?

The association supports families in a variety of ways. Many of the current challenges show how important specialist advice, continuous support and specialized assistance are for foster families. PAN NRW offers guidance in difficult situations, promotes professional training - for example on topics such as trauma or attachment disorders - and strengthens families through exchange, networking and self-help initiatives. At the same time, the association is politically committed to ensuring that foster families have better access to the help they need, for example to therapies, diagnostics, school support or respite services. The association's scientific work helps to pool knowledge and create better framework conditions on this basis.

What are the three most pressing issues at the moment?

  • First and foremost is the great inconsistency of standards in the foster care system: Youth welfare offices work very differently in some cases, which is tantamount to a "game of roulette" for foster children.
  • In addition, many families receive insufficient support - be it through a lack of therapy services, a lack of specialist expertise or long waiting times and bureaucratic hurdles.
  • Finally, there is a great need for reform in the orientation of youth welfare services and family courts: Decisions are not always based on the best interests of the child, for example when it comes to contact arrangements or return issues, which jeopardizes the stability of many foster care relationships.

Why is it worth getting involved in the association's work?

Caregiving parents are often confronted with considerable stress and uncertainty and urgently need support. PAN NRW offers them a strong voice, professional orientation and a network that relieves and strengthens them. At the same time, members can help to promote political change - because structural problems can only be solved together. Anyone who joins the association actively helps to improve the conditions for foster children and their families and to create an environment that opens up real opportunities for these children. Only together is real change possible.

Contact person

Reiner Rettinger
Managing Director of PAN NRW e. V.

Telephone: 0211 1799 6380
rettinger@pan-ev.de

PAN Pflege- und Adoptivfamilien NRW e. V.

If you are interested or have any questions, please contact:

PAN Pflege- und Adoptivfamilien NRW e. V.
Vogelsanger Weg 80
40470 Düsseldorf

Phone: 0211 1799 6380
Fax: 0211 1799 6381
info@pan-ev.de
www.pan-ev.de

Further information Links to read more

In September 2025, the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Family Affairs invited foster parents from all over North Rhine-Westphalia to talk to each other at Familiendialog.NRW in Düsseldorf. A review of this event and a brief documentation of the results can be found here:

Familiendialog.NRW for foster parents

The final report of the PAN NRW project "Focus on foster families NRW", for which over 1,300 families were surveyed, makes it clear that growing up as a foster child is a game of roulette in many places in Germany. You can download a free summary of the report here:

Summary "On the situation of foster families"

Many family associations in NRW are committed to a common goal: a family policy that enables participation, embraces diversity and overcomes exclusion.

Eleven family associations have joined forces in the Landesarbeitsgemeinschaft Familie NRW (LAG-F NRW). You can find information about the LAG-F here:

LAG Family NRW