Roads in the social area: Welfare associations warn of an emergency!

Roads in the social area: Welfare associations warn of an emergency!

in the Coesfeld district, a new draft for budget planning ensures great concern among the welfare associations. The current planning provides for drastic cuts of almost 90 million euros in the area of welfare care, which could significantly endanger numerous social services in the region.

The working group of free welfare care, Comprised of Organizations Search AS the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO), Caritas and Diakonie, criticized the plans and warns of the negative effects on social services. According to a joint explanation, the cuts concern almost all areas of social work, such as addiction and endangered assistance as well as family counseling. The organizations ask the members of the state parliament to rethink their plans.

critical effects on migration advice

One of the most serious consequences of the proposed cuts concerns migration advice. Here the budget for the social advice of refugees is to be reduced by two thirds, which means a loss of 22 million euros in the coming year. Christoph Schlütermann, spokesman for the Wohlfahrtspflege Arbeitsgemeinschaft, emphasizes that the current funding programs are not sufficiently financed and that further savings in this area are not portable.

"Personnel costs increase and we need an increase in funds, not a reduction," continued Schlütermann. The concern about these financial incisions also leads to a call to the members of the state parliament from the district of Coesfeld. In an urgent letter, the associations appeal to work for a change in the state parliament and to vote against the planned cuts.

The problems are by no means new, because in the previous year there were protests against the budgetary policy of the black and green state government. On October 19, 2023, 25,000 people, many of them, demonstrated before the state parliament employees and demanded more financial means for social work. The key message: the state budget must be adjusted to prevent burglaries in the financing of daycare centers, advice centers and other social institutions.

The welfare associations are clear in their message: The intended budgetary policy is not only a reduction in funds, but also a step backwards in social responsibility. They demand a turnaround in the financing of social work to strengthen social cohesion.

The district administration itself is also affected, as Detlef Schütt confirmed in the specialist committee. Austerity measures could lead to important positions cannot be filled again and some advisory services may be eliminated. According to SPD parliamentary group leader Johannes Waldmann, the planned budget cutting show that migration advice and other essential social services are in particular at risk.

late registrations report cuts in several social areas, including in addiction help, family counseling and inclusion. While in the area of child and youth welfare more than 404 million euros are further estimated in the overall budget, savings should also be carried out, for example, for protective measures for children and adolescents and with the support of people with disabilities. The conflicts between the financial claims and the reality of social aid are becoming increasingly clear.

The welfare associations are now calling for a clear positioning of the state government, since the current budget planning not only undermines the social infrastructure, but also endangers the support for the most disadvantaged groups in society. For these further developments, it will be crucial how politics reacts to the continuing concerns of the associations.