Access to Educational and Participation Services

The welfare state offers comprehensive support to ensure a livelihood and participation in social life. However, many people do not claim the social benefits to which they are entitled. The study “The Non-Claiming of Social Benefits from the Perspective of the Administration” examines this phenomenon through eight guided expert interviews. Reducing bureaucracy, becoming more citizen-centered, offering low-threshold services, and simplifying the benefits system could improve working conditions for administrative staff while also speeding up the review of applications.

The study “Barriers to Accessing Cash Benefits for Families” by the German Youth Institute (DJI) examines the non-take-up of cash benefits, focusing in particular on the barriers to access faced by migrants.

The publication “Empirical Findings on the Education and Participation Package: Focus on Participation Rates" by the Paritätischer Gesamtverband is intended as a contribution to the debate on reducing bureaucracy and significantly expanding participation opportunities for children and adolescents.

The study “Children and Adolescents in Situations of Poverty" by the German Institute for Interdisciplinary Social Policy Research (DIFIS) provides an overview of the situation of children and adolescents living in material poverty, taking regional differences into account. It outlines the background, challenges, and potential courses of action for a preventive social policy at the local level.

The “Statement by the Secretariat of the German Association for Public and Private Welfare (Deutscher Verein für öffentliche und private Fürsorge e. V.) on the draft bill by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth for a bill to introduce a basic child allowance and to amend other provisions".

Families often find it difficult to keep track of their various entitlements to benefits and to apply for them with the appropriate authorities. As a result, they may not apply for benefits even though they are eligible. Or they may apply for benefits but fill out the application forms incorrectly.

As part of the project “Applications for Benefits for Children in Low-Income Families” to effectively support the further development of administrative practices.

The “Recommendations of the German Association for the Implementation of Education and Participation Benefits” are intended to serve as a practical guide for implementing the regulations governing the education and participation package. In cases where the legal provisions may lead to differing interpretations, the presentation of the pros and cons offers guidance for decision-making.

The study “Educational and Participation Services in the Prevention Chain” presents, among other things, solutions for municipal practice that have emerged as examples of good practice in a comparison of municipalities.

The publication “A Perfect Fit? Better Child Participation Through Pass Systems” by the Heinrich Böll Foundation examines, among other things, the extent to which pass systems have the potential to simplify the use of existing BuT services, meaningfully supplement them, and expand them.

Pass systems in municipalities include, for example:

• passes that exclusively administer education and participation services
• discount passes that provide such benefits independently of the education and participation package, as well as
• extended social passes that also provide access to other services from public and private providers.

The Federal Audit Office is tasked with auditing the federal government’s overall budgetary and financial management, including its special funds and enterprises. In addition to the Federal Government, it must report its findings annually directly to the German Bundestag and the Bundesrat. 

The “2016 Observations of the Federal Audit Office on the Federal Government’s Budgetary and Financial Management (including findings on the 2015 annual financial statements)” can be found here.

From 2013 to 2016, the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) conducted a multidimensional research project to evaluate the uptake and local implementation of benefits for education and participation: Is the legislature’s intent being fulfilled? Are the benefits reaching those eligible? And what factors influence this?

To the final report: “Evaluation of Nationwide Utilization and Implementation of Education and Participation Services".

You can download a summary here.

The Family Research Monitor of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth (2012) “The Education and Participation Package: Opportunities for Children from Families Receiving the Child Supplement” presents the results of an evaluation of the uptake, assessment, and impact of the Education and Participation Package for families receiving the child supplement. In addition, it provides insights into the families who receive the child supplement—including the number of children, educational attainment, employment status, and other sociodemographic characteristics.