Youth welfare office

The youth welfare office performs the tasks of the local public youth welfare organization. The purpose of public youth welfare is to promote the upbringing and development of young people; however, public youth welfare does not have an independent educational mandate, as the law stipulates that parents have the natural right to care for and raise their children.

Public youth welfare services therefore show children, young people and parents in conflict situations ways in which they can resolve them themselves and offer advice and tailored support. In urgent and emergency cases, the youth welfare offices also have the option of taking affected children and young people into care to protect them.

Custody is a temporary form of socio-pedagogical crisis intervention in child and youth welfare. The decisive criterion is an acute risk to the child's welfare. In addition, youth welfare offices must take children or young people into care if they request it themselves.

Finding help quickly

The 186 local youth welfare offices in North Rhine-Westphalia offer competent help for children, young people, parents, professionals, teachers, volunteers and all other concerned third parties or act as intermediaries in individual cases. On the website of the Ministry of Children and Youth you will find an overview of all youth welfare offices in North Rhine-Westphalia, where you can find the relevant youth welfare office by name or zip code. The local youth welfare offices provide information about local services.