A working group comprising federal, state, and municipal authorities has developed a potential list of cuts targeting disability and child and youth welfare services, according to the Paritätischer Gesamtverband (Parity Welfare Association). The welfare organization reported on Thursday that a corresponding working paper contains 70 proposals for cuts totaling €8.6 billion. However, the actual volume of cuts is likely considerably higher, as nearly two-thirds of all proposals are not backed by specific figures.
The Paritätischer Gesamtverband expressed its dismay at the cost-cutting plans from federal, state, and local governments, describing them as aimed at "radical cuts to social support services." According to the proposals, individual legal entitlements to school accompaniment services would be eliminated, the right of people with disabilities to choose their preferred services would be restricted, and aftercare for young adults transitioning out of youth welfare would be abolished.
Additionally, maintenance advance payments for single parents would be reduced. Some proposals "openly contradict the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child," the organization stated.
The Paritätischer Gesamtverband published the 108-page "proposal book" titled "Efficient Use of Resources in Benefit Legislation." The document is marked as a "draft" and was prepared for a working group meeting of federal, state, and municipal representatives on March 25.
According to the paper, the individual proposals originate primarily from the Federal Ministry of Labor or Family Affairs, specific federal states, or municipal umbrella organizations. Which proposals will actually be implemented remains unclear.
"What is being negotiated here under the harmless title 'Efficient Use of Resources' is an attack on achievements that are fundamental to social participation and that have been fought for over decades," declared Joachim Rock, the association's chief executive.
"We are facing a wholesale decimation of everyday assistance, with profound consequences for those affected and their families." Rock described it as "equally scandalous" that "the debate is being conducted in secret, bypassing the people it affects."
According to the welfare association, the federal-state working group was established on December 4 at a meeting between Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and the heads of government of the federal states. At that time, Merz stated that the sharply increased expenditures resulting from benefit legislation, particularly at the municipal level, must be "brought under control."
The federal government, states, and municipalities therefore agreed "to move forward now with proposals (...) on how we can ensure in the future that benefit legislation can be applied in a targeted manner," he said.
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