SPD on families

The SPD wants to turn family centers into counseling hubs that link schools, daycare, youth work, and early childhood support. New centers are to be set up where none exist. More families should also be able to take part in family retreats and vacation programs.

Family centers should give families better advice. They should connect schools, daycare and youth work. Places without a family center should get one. Families with little money should find it easier to go on vacation.

According to the platform, the many organizations active in Lower Saxony lack coordination, so family centers and school social work are to become the key hubs. Existing local networks will be included. The SPD wants to examine how family centers and multigenerational houses can complement each other. Information services for families and seniors are to grow, for example through an app for fathers or a parent information app. Together with family and welfare associations, more family retreats and vacations are to be made possible, especially for single parents, large families, and low-income families.

The SPD wants to improve children's participation rights and attention to the child's best interests under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child at all levels. It supports writing children's rights into the Grundgesetz (Germany's constitution).

Children have their own rights. The SPD wants to make these rights stronger. Children should have more of a say. Children's rights should also be written into the constitution.

The platform calls for building bodies that represent children's interests at the state and local level. Self-organization by children and young people in educational institutions and youth welfare facilities is also to be supported. Participation rights are to be written into state constitutions and municipal codes. In schools and daycare centers, the right to participate and to be informed about the UN convention is to be firmly established.

The SPD wants to improve child protection through a dedicated state law, ombuds offices across the state, and uniform standards for youth welfare services. The plan responds to serious cases of violence against children. Campaigns for non-violent parenting are also planned.

Children should be better protected from violence. The SPD wants a special law for this. There should be help offices everywhere in the state. Protection should be equally good in every town. There should be more counseling against violence.

The platform refers to the findings of the state parliament's commission of inquiry on child protection. Under the new youth welfare law, ombuds offices for those affected and seeking help are to be set up statewide and firmly embedded in child and youth services. A "Lower Saxony standard" is to guarantee equivalent protection regardless of where a child lives. A child protection act is to bring the state's rules together. Also planned are a "non-violent parenting" campaign, an awareness drive, and more violence counseling centers linked with youth centers.