"We need to pull together institutionally when it comes to child protection"

"We need to pull together institutionally when it comes to child protection"

Lecture hall S207 at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences is rarely as full as it is this morning during the lecture-free period. A good 150 people are sitting on the wooden folding benches arranged in steps; two latecomers are making themselves comfortable on the large steps in the hall. They all work professionally with children, young people and families and want to spend a day exchanging ideas, networking and utilising and strengthening existing structures at the first specialist conference on child protection in the state of Bremen. "As Rector of this university, but also as a citizen of Bremerhaven and father of two adult daughters, it is a matter close to my heart that we do everything in our power to protect children and provide them with the best possible support," said University Rector Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Alexis Papathanassis. Right at the beginning of the conference, Martin Günthner, Bremerhaven City Councillor and Head of the Department for Social Affairs, Labour and Youth, demanded that this must be guaranteed to succeed even in times of tight budgets and cost-cutting constraints, triggering a lot of nodding in the hall. "We are well positioned in Bremen and Bremerhaven and have invested a lot in structures and cooperation," explained Rolf Diener, Head of the State Youth Welfare Office, who also thanked the participants on behalf of Bremen's Senator for Labour, Social Affairs, Youth and Integration, Dr Claudia Schilling, for their daily commitment to the protection of children and young people in Bremerhaven and Bremen. "The state community watches over the welfare of children. It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that children and young people can grow up in a safe and nurturing environment," he added. To achieve this, it is important to "pull together institutionally to protect children and young people". This is exactly what the participants in the room want to do today.

"Cooperation is based on trust"

Cooperation is the core theme of this conference. Prof Dr Michael Böwer, who teaches social work at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences and was invited to the university in conjunction with the department, is himself a man of practice. As a social worker at Bremen Caritas, he supported families in difficult life situations and with parenting issues. He has been teaching and researching child protection and sexualised violence for sixteen years and develops projects to sensitise practitioners and students to the topic. "Cooperation is my favourite topic," he confesses. "I want to show you a systemic approach today - because we see ourselves as a support system together." This presupposes that state and non-state actors, for example employees of youth welfare offices, daycare centres, teachers, doctors, police, but also citizens, children and young people, meet as equals in a spirit of trust. Together, they could identify potential gaps in the system and strengthen existing structures to protect the youngest members of society. "Cooperation is based on trust," says Böwer. "Understanding each other requires trust. And you have to be prepared to take the risk of assuming that the other person has good intentions!" Unfortunately, there is no "magic method". "It may be that the other person wants something different from us." That's why it's always about being on an equal footing and mutual tolerance. ‘"hat's what my colleagues and I teach students right from the start."

"Cooperation is important, make time for it"

Michael Böwer received applause from the plenary session for his statement that those working in child and youth protection must have and be given more time for cooperation and dialogue from a structural point of view. The task for politicians is: "Cooperation times are integrated into working time calculations and agreements with health insurance companies, even in family situations below the level of child endangerment." A lively discussion ensued about the necessary structures for dialogue, networking and knowledge transfer, which continued throughout the day in alternating focus groups. The second keynote speaker, Dr Thomas Meysen from the SOCLES Institute in Heidelberg, will highlight the effects of reporting obligations and data protection requirements in an international comparison. These do not automatically lead to better protection; control also increases fear of the helpers.
The participants agree that it is helpful if a specific network person coordinates meetings and communication in the neighbourhood. Inter-agency balint groups, such as in Bremerhaven, which enable the development of a shared understanding in child protection practice, are helpful. Above all, however, structural support is needed. According to some participants, managers should not only encourage their teams to cooperate and engage in inter-agency dialogue, but also enable them to do so: "They are more likely to succeed if managers convey the message: ‘Cooperation is important, make time for it". It must also be clear to third parties that such meetings "are not an invitation to chat over coffee, but that we share and increase knowledge through exchange," summarises a school social worker from the west of Bremen.

The final evaluation, in which more than 100 participants actively took part, shows that the event was a complete success - after seven intensive hours of work. Seven topic areas were identified, which the follow-up event in Bremen next year will build on: The spectrum ranges from digital child protection to case number limits and coordinated casework, child protection as a training component to networking knowledge in the help landscape.

Contact for enquiries:
Prof. Dr Michael Böwer
Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences
Phone: 0471/4823353
Email: mboewer@hs-bremerhaven.de

Claudia Vollmer
Free Hanseatic City of Bremen
Department of Social Affairs of the Senatorial Authority for Social Affairs, Youth, Women, Integration and Sport
Phone: 0421/36195160
Email: claudia.vollmer@soziales.bremen.de