National Preventive Mechanism A well-known model with professional foster families that has been practiced for years in Switzerland was introduced in Lower Austria and adapted to Austrian needs three years ago. Adolescents who had to leave many facilities are cared for in a shared accommodation during a crisis period. A maximum of four adolescents live there with a very high staff ratio. The Land has to pay a substantially higher daily rate for a period of time, but this pays off in the end, as the aim is to guide the children and adolescents back to their home. If this is not possible, they are accommodated in professional foster families who cooperate intensively with the shared accommodation. If a crisis occurs in this foster family, there is the possibility that minors can return to the shared accommodation for a short period. The facility visited by Commission 5 considers itself thus a support and hub for the foster families. They are, so to speak, a safe place in case the care does not go optimally. Some adolescents can be released to independence from this shared accommodation, but still always have the option of being able to return. Shared accommodation as safe place during crisis XX The NPM recommends concepts which involve crisis management to avoid breaking relationships. XX Models with time-out shared accommodation must be developed. XX As competent authorities for child and youth welfare and protection, all Laender should create facilities for crisis periods with a higher personnel ratio and a lower number of children. 5.3.5 Participation “House parliaments”, children’s teams, children’s representatives and complaints letter boxes should be mechanisms that guarantee the involvement of the children and adolescents even within the framework of institutionalised care. The interviews that the commissions conducted with the children and adolescents are aimed at identifying whether the introduction of these participative measures provides more opportunities for input and codetermination. The responses were rather disillusioning. In many facilities, children’s team meetings are no longer held or are only held at very long intervals. But even where they do take place, the adults decide at the end of the day that wishes cannot be taken into consideration, according to the children and adolescents. The minutes of children’s team meetings do not exist in many cases or they disappear to the bottom of the pile. Need to catch up Participation, as intended by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Federal Constitutional Act on the Rights of Children, is more than merely the right to be heard. It is a fundamental Child as the expert for its own life 145