👪 Family and relatives
In brief
Relatives of people with addiction often suffer considerably themselves and are easily overlooked. There are support services of their own such as Al-Anon (for relatives and friends of alcoholics) and relatives' counselling at addiction advice centres. According to estimates by NACOA Deutschland, a considerable share of children in Germany grow up with at least one parent affected by addiction.
A parent's addiction does not automatically mean a risk to the child's welfare – what matters in the individual case is whether, and how severely, the parent's ability to care is actually impaired. Where there are concrete indications of a risk, the Jugendamt (youth welfare office) must be involved.
Step by step
- Seek support for yourselfAl-Anon groups, relatives' counselling at the addiction advice centre or Alateen for young people from families affected by addiction.
- Support the children specificallyUse programmes such as "Trampolin" (for children from families affected by addiction) or the contact point NACOA Deutschland.
- If you are worried about the child's welfare: involve the JugendamtAs part of its protective mandate under § 8a SGB VIII, the Jugendamt examines the concrete situation, not the diagnosis "addiction" alone.
Deadlines
- The NACOA figures are an organisation's estimate, not an official federal statistic – deliberately marked as an estimate on this page.
- A parent's addiction does not in itself justify an automatic withdrawal of custody or exclusion of contact – the law requires a concrete risk to the child's welfare and examines milder measures first.
- Relatives often take on "co-dependency" unintentionally – professional relatives' counselling can help to recognise this.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Services for relatives
Al-Anon is an independent self-help organisation, separate from Alcoholics Anonymous, exclusively for relatives and friends of people with alcohol problems, with around 450 groups nationwide; Alateen, as a sub-programme, is aimed at young people from affected families. In addition, most general addiction advice centres offer structured relatives' counselling.
Children of parents affected by addiction
NACOA Deutschland estimates that around 3 million children in Germany grow up with at least one parent affected by addiction, with only around 200 specific support services nationwide – a gap in provision. These figures are an estimate by NACOA, not an independently verified official statistic. The prevention programme "Trampolin" (UKE Hamburg and KatHO NRW) is aimed at children aged 8 to 12 from families affected by addiction and has been tested for effectiveness in a randomised controlled trial.
Child protection, custody and contact rights
The protective mandate in cases of risk to a child's welfare under § 8a SGB VIII obliges the Jugendamt to assess the risk where there are significant indications. A parent's addiction alone is not a risk to the child's welfare in the legal sense – what is decisive is the actual effect on the ability to raise and care for the child in the individual case. Interventions in custody follow §§ 1666, 1666a BGB (only if milder measures are not sufficient) or § 1671 BGB. The right of contact under § 1684 Abs. 1 BGB can be restricted or excluded only if the contact itself concretely endangers the child's welfare.
Uncertain/not officially verified
The NACOA estimate of around 3 million affected children is based on the organisation's own calculations, not on an independently verified official survey.
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.