Saxony's Foster Care Crisis: 30 Children Urgently Need Homes

Saxony's youth welfare system is under strain, with an urgent need for more foster families. Chemnitz alone is seeking homes for 15 children, while Dresden and Leipzig also face critical shortages. Despite the high demand, the financial incentives for foster families are considered low, and the system grapples with rising costs and complex child issues.

The youth welfare offices in Saxony's largest cities are overwhelmed, often only able to intervene when issues escalate. Currently, around 30 children are in urgent need of foster families, with 15 each in Dresden and Chemnitz. The exact number for Leipzig is unknown but contributes to the overall critical shortage.

The proposed foster care allowance for 2025 is 1,178 euros for children up to six years old, increasing with age. However, Diakonie Saxony considers this incentive relatively low, as it lacks parental leave, pension, or health insurance support. This may contribute to the declining number of applicants in Dresden, where 15 girls and boys are currently seeking foster families.

The children in need of care often have complex issues, such as substance abuse, mental health problems, and severe behavioral challenges. Despite these difficulties, the system is under historically unprecedented cost pressure, with rising expenses and drastic cuts in municipalities. In Dresden alone, around nine million euros was spent on full-time care last year for 412 children in 348 foster families.

Saxony's youth welfare system is facing a significant challenge, with an acute shortage of foster families in major cities. While the proposed foster care allowance for 2025 aims to support families, the low financial incentive and the complex needs of children in care may hinder recruitment efforts. The system urgently needs more foster families to meet the growing demand and provide stable homes for vulnerable children.