Local Prevention Chains

More and more children and adolescents in North Rhine-Westphalia are at risk of poverty or are growing up in poverty. This can significantly limit their opportunities for education, health, and social participation and often places a burden on the entire family. At the same time, it results in high social and financial costs for local governments.

That is why municipal prevention networks intervene early. They connect various local departments, institutions, and support services, coordinate their efforts, and fill gaps. This enables municipalities to reach children, adolescents, and their parents early on, identify needs, and offer appropriate assistance.

The goal is to provide every child with needs-based support tailored to their specific needs—from birth through daycare and school to the transition to college or a career.  In this way, the prevention chains help improve opportunities for children and adolescents to participate in society while simultaneously reducing the follow-up costs of child and youth poverty for municipalities.