📞 Advice and contact points for care leavers
In brief
Besides the Jugendamt, which remains responsible for support for young adults and aftercare, there are independent contact points specifically for care leavers – in particular for conflicts with the Jugendamt, for peer exchange or for general orientation after youth welfare ends. The services are not distributed uniformly nationwide: some federal states have ombudsman offices covering the whole state, others do not.
Step by step
- Contact the JugendamtFor questions about ongoing or possible support, first contact your own Jugendamt or your previous key worker.
- Use the ombudsman office for conflictsIn conflicts with the Jugendamt (e.g. refusal of support for young adults), contact a child and youth welfare ombudsman office in your own federal state, if there is one.
- Contact Careleaver e. V.For peer exchange, specialist information and the emergency fund, turn to Careleaver e. V. (careleaver.de).
- Use specialist institutes for detailed questionsFor detailed legal questions on SGB VIII, use publications of the German Institute for Youth Welfare and Family Law (DIJuF).
- Use the matching Wegweiser building blocksFor topics outside youth welfare (housing, debt, BAföG), use the matching building blocks of this platform.
Deadlines
- Not every federal state has its own ombudsman office; where one is missing, existing networks sometimes refer to short telephone advice by offices in neighbouring states – this is a structural difference between the federal states and not misinformation on this page.
- Ombudsman offices do not replace an objection or a lawsuit against a notice of decision – they mediate and advise, but do not make binding decisions in place of the Jugendamt or a court.
- Careleaver e. V. is a registered association and not an authority – information and support are provided within the association's offerings, not as a sovereign (official) service.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Federal Ombudsman Network for Child and Youth Welfare
The Bundesnetzwerk Ombudschaft in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe e. V. (Federal Ombudsman Network for Child and Youth Welfare, ombudschaft-jugendhilfe.de) brings together statewide and regional ombudsman offices that advise and mediate, independently of the Jugendamt and providers, in conflicts in child and youth welfare – including on questions about support for young adults.
Careleaver e. V.
The association, founded in 2014 (careleaver.de), sees itself as a nationwide network of and for care leavers, with peer counselling, an emergency fund, advocacy towards politicians and the professional public, and regional working groups.
Specialist institutes
The German Institute for Youth Welfare and Family Law (DIJuF, dijuf.de) and the German Youth Institute (DJI, dji.de) publish specialist articles, FAQs and research findings on young adults and care leavers, which are also accessible to those affected and their advisers.
A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.