Child and youth welfare facilities 2.3 Child and youth welfare facilities 2.3.1 Introduction In the year under review 2017, a total of 93 facilities in which children and adolescents are cared for were visited. Most of the observations in 2017 had to do with living conditions, health care and the personnel. There was also a large number of findings on the topics of the “right to privacy” and “signs of torture, maltreatment, abuse, neglect and degrading treatment”. Complaint management was also the subject of many observations made by the six commissions. Not only facility-related problems are depicted in the findings of the commissions. Structural deficits in child and youth welfare are also described. Negative practices in the facilities are communicated to the management in the concluding meetings. Rectification is frequently promised immediately or implemented directly after the visits. Afterwards many facilities express their gratitude for constructive criticism and external feedback, but are also delighted when notice is taken of the improvements they are working on. If this is not the case or when findings can only be made after viewing the documents, the NPM contacts the private or state-owned competent authorities for child and youth welfare and protection requesting an opinion. In this way, it was possible to initiate further development of participation opportunities in several facilities last year. The children’s right to participate could be achieved thanks to the active, age-appropriate involvement of the children and adolescents in the meetings on which the development reports are based and the creation of children’s councils. Minors should be given different alternatives to lodge complaints internally or externally, for example by offering letter boxes or installing a digital app that presents the children and youth advocacy organisations. The commissions were also successful in improving medical documentation in several facilities. Increased awareness for the need to store medicines safely was also generated. Promises were made to take children to medical specialists for paediatrics, dentistry and ophthalmology in the future. Many improvements again At the suggestion of the commissions, a dietitian was involved in creating healthy menu plans that also included the minors’ wishes in several shared accommodations. The NPM assumes that it is necessary to offer minors from dysfunctional families nutritional education in order to realise their right to the best possible health, especially considering that their eating habits develop from model learning. This has nothing to do with strict rules and prohibitions. On the contrary, it must be accepted that some children and adolescents have eaten mainly fast food to date and have never become familiar with common unprocessed foods or alternative ways of cooking. Having their say in the weekly menu plan, shopping and the ingredients of balanced meals 61