Child and youth welfare facilities the facilities in solving the fluctuation problems. This is undertaken by the competent authorities for child and youth welfare and protection. The support measures offered by the Laender range from staff meetings (also with former employees), extra-occupational advance and further training, supervision, monitoring and coaching to manager training. The effect of these measures by the competent supervisory authorities, however, seems to be of a limited nature. On follow-up visits to the facilities that are affected by high fluctuation, the commissions found that the situation had sometimes worsened. Measures taken by the authorities to date are not sufficient XX  High personnel fluctuation must be avoided at all cost in the interest of minors. XX  Causes of fluctuation must be prevented. 2.3.6 Participation of children and adolescents The commissions conduct interviews with the children and adolescents in order to establish, amongst others, whether participative measures were introduced in the facilities. These include “house councils“, children’s teams, children’s representatives and complaints letter boxes, opportunities to have their say and exercise self-determination. The answers were disillusioning in recent years. In many facilities, meetings of the children’s teams are no longer held or are only held at very long intervals. But according to the children and adolescents, even where they do take place, the adults still decide that their wishes cannot be accommodated. Need to catch up Participation, as stipulated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Federal Constitutional Act on the Rights of Children, is more than the right to be heard. It is a fundamental approach that has effects in all areas of out-of-home care measures, from the decision and admission process through the care period to completion of the phase of independence. According to the Quality4Children Standards, which were drafted by order of the European Council for the extra-familial care of children and young adults in Europe on the basis of UNCRC, the child is recognised as the expert for its own life. To this end, it must be informed, heard and taken seriously. Children as experts for their own lives Involving children and adolescents in different projects means that they can identify with and better support them. Participation can only function if both the management and the staff of a facility are positive about this topic. It can only take place if the employees are involved in the decision processes of the facility. The most important condition for this is that the children and adolescents recognise positive results and developments because in this way they realise that their commitment pays off. 71