Child and youth welfare facilities No harmonised regulation of education The social pedagogue profession is not regulated in any pertinent law. Over many years, efforts to implement a harmonised regulation at the federal level have failed. As a consequence, the level of education is inhomogeneous, as educational institutions pursue different models in terms of learning content and the number of lessons and hours of practical experience. The same applies for the advance and further training offered. The NPM holds the view that a contemporary and harmonised regulation in these areas has been necessary for a long time. People who work in the social sector must have the necessary qualifications. Also no uniform regulations for staffing ratios The staffing ratio is also regulated differently in the Laender and, in some cases, not clearly defined. In some Laender, regulations stipulate that there must be a minimum number of care persons depending on the type of housing. In other Laender, there is no regulation and the number of qualified staff is only prescribed for the facilities in the respective permit notice. The NPM also views this very critically. XX  The NPM demands that only well-trained staff should work in child and youth welfare facilities. XX  Uniform training standards and quality standards in child and youth welfare must be created for all of Austria. 2.3.11 Continuation of support after reaching legal age Entitlement to support ends after reaching legal age The Federal Children’s and Youth Service Act 2013 (Bundes-Kinder-und Jungendhilfegesetz) stipulates that parenting/educational support can be extended after the recipient has reached legal age if this is absolutely necessary to achieve the objectives defined in the assistance plan. There is no legal entitlement as was the intention behind the legislative proposal. In some Laender, the extension is only granted for six months or a year, which causes a feeling of insecurity for the adolescents. Moreover, young adults in almost all Laender only receive further support in the form of full residential care if they were already living out of home. This means that adolescents are often not accepted in full residential care before reaching their 18th birthday even if out-of-home care has been indicated. Individual support needs 78 When the number of young adults in residential care in 2016 is assessed in relation to the total number of those in full residential care, it is noticeable that some Laender continue granting assistance for longer than others. The amount of assistance granted to young adults is thus twice as high in Salzburg, Tyrol and Styria as it is in other Laender. These significant differences cannot only be explained by different support needs of the individual adolescents.