No accommodation

“Errors in communication with the young person”

The district administration in Feldkirch.(Bild: Landespressestelle)

The case of the 16-year-old from Vorarlberg, who was denied help in finding accommodation by the Feldkirch district authority, was reviewed by those responsible at the BH, the state's specialist supervisory authority and the child and youth advocate. The conclusion: mistakes had been made, but the system still worked.

After the allegations against those responsible at the Feldkirch BH became known, the opposition parties in the state parliament called for a complete investigation. The state councillor responsible, Barbara Schöbi-Fink, hosted a "round table" on Friday, which was attended by politicians, district governors and the child and youth advocate. The questions about the case of the 16-year-old were "answered by experts", taking into account the duty of confidentiality, it was said after the meeting. 

Schöbi-Fink noted that the period during which the young person was denied contact with the district authority was viewed critically. In addition, the district authority had already admitted that mistakes had also been made in communication with the young person.

However, the state councillor also emphasized that the evaluation of public child and youth welfare services in 2023 had generally given the Vorarlberg child and youth welfare system a very good report card. In 2024, child and youth welfare services provided parenting support in 2319 cases. In 397 cases, the adolescents were placed in institutions, in 267 cases with foster families.

Of the 397 children and young people in institutional care, 6.5% had their care terminated, either by the guardians, the young person or the institution. "For various reasons, such as conflicts or resistance to rules, it is unfortunately not always possible to keep young people in these facilities."

"Young people must be willing"
If young people can no longer be cared for by private child and youth welfare facilities, the young person is offered support as part of assistance planning until they can be admitted to a suitable facility again. However, the young person must also be willing to accept the offer. In "extremely rare cases", so-called "border crossers", the help system reaches its limits, according to Schöbi-Fink.

This is a challenge not only in Vorarlberg, but throughout Austria. "But they do exist and it is important to react to their life situation and try everything possible to find the right help for the children and young people," emphasized the state councillor. The state has been planning a discussion on this topic with a recognized expert for some time now, and representatives from politics, the police and the judiciary will also be invited.