New Childhood house in Northern Hesse: A hope for children in need!

New Childhood house in Northern Hesse: A hope for children in need!

In a significant initiative to strengthen child protection in Hesse, the state government plans to establish a second Childhood house, in the north Hessian area. Family Minister Diana Stolz (CDU) announced this decision on Tuesday in the state parliament. The success of the first Childhood house in Frankfurt served as an impetus for the new project.

Childhood houses offer specialized, comprehensive support for children who have become victims or witnesses. Various institutions such as the youth welfare office, judiciary, police and experts from medicine and psychology work closely together. This minimizes the need that children are interviewed several times and ensures that the care is designed in such a way that it does justice to the traumatic experiences of those affected.

achievements of the Frankfurt model

In the first half of 2024, 400 children were already looked after in the Childhood house in Frankfurt, which underlines the urgency and success of the concept. "The concept impressed and convinced me," said proudly during her announcement and thus emphasized the positive response that the Frankfurt model received. These successes show that integrative care approaches for traumatized children are effective and can make a significant contribution to improving their life situation.

Ines Claus, the chairwoman of the CDU parliamentary group in the Hessian state parliament, made the enormous importance of child protection in their explanations. "Protection of the child is always a top priority!" Said Claus. She pointed out the need that the mandatory examinations and the creation of child protection outpatient clinics as well as the determined fight against sexualized violence must be central elements of the political agenda. This shows that not only someone is concerned with the expansion of the infrastructure, but also about establishing accompanying programs that contribute to the fact that these houses actually fulfill their purpose.

relevant legal measures

Another signal for the seriousness of the efforts to protect child protection in Hesse was the recent approval of the Federal Council on a Hessian bill on the storage of IP addresses. Claus emphasized that "data protection is not allowed to protect perpetrators". This measure is regarded as a crucial instrument for the identification and persecution of perpetrators, especially in the context of combating child pornography and other forms of sexual exploitation.

The breakdown of children's pornography networks such as "Boystown" and "Elysium" underlines the need and effectiveness of a determined criminal prosecution. Claus assured that the political actors in Hesse would not decrease to put the protection of the youngest and most vulnerable members of society at the center of their politics. These determined measures reflect a growing awareness of the challenges that children face in today's society.