The Education and Participation Package (BuT)

Difficult financial circumstances faced by families and the lack of opportunities for children from these families to participate in community life are closely linked. However, local stakeholders have effective tools at their disposal to support families and children and mitigate some of the consequences.

Being at risk of or affected by poverty impacts the entire family. In addition to the immediate difficulties in meeting everyday needs and the intra-family tensions often associated with this, situations of poverty severely limit children’s social participation and educational opportunities. 

In 2024, 23.3% of all children and adolescents under the age of 18 in North Rhine-Westphalia were at risk of poverty (Source: IT.NRW, State Statistical Office, Microcensus results). The gap between families with children and childless households is wide: Single parents (45.9%) and families with multiple children (33.2%) are particularly at risk of poverty.

For children and adolescents, growing up in poverty—in addition to the sacrifices and limitations it entails—also has significant effects on the later stages of their lives (Source: German Institute for Interdisciplinary Social Policy Research, 2023):

• If there is no money available for recreational activities, opportunities for participation are severely limited.
• However, sports, music, culture, and other activities are not only important for young people to thrive, but also for their chances of leading self-determined lives.
• Where there is a lack of funding for educational programs, educational opportunities in daycare centers, elementary schools, and secondary schools go unused.
• This creates disadvantages that are extremely difficult to overcome later on.

However, no child should be disadvantaged. Everyone should have the same opportunities to grow up well. The benefits provided by the Education and Participation Package (BuT) contribute to this.

The Education and Participation Package was introduced in 2011 to create a material foundation for equal opportunities for children, adolescents, and young adults whose parents rely on certain government transfer payments.

The use of services under the Education and Participation Package is not systematically tracked across all eligibility categories. Since data on the recipients of the individual BuT services are also collected and processed differently, these data are only comparable to a limited extent. However, the available data suggests that only a portion of those eligible actually take advantage of these services. Further information on current studies can be found, among other places, here.

The large number of agencies involved and the different legal frameworks within the BuT context highlight the complexity of the issue. A blanket assessment of the uptake of BuT benefits is therefore not possible. Regardless of this, it is undisputed that there is potential to increase uptake and thereby reduce the risk of poverty.

With a package of measures, the Ministry of Family Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia aims to ensure that more families receive the benefits of the BuT package and to facilitate targeted further developments at the municipal and state levels.

Further information on this measure