Child and youth welfare facilities
The situation becomes particularly critical for the unaccompanied minor
refugees if the owner and operator associations have to file for insolvency
as a result of the closures. In this case, the employment contracts of the staff
working in the shared accommodation are terminated by the liquidator, the
internal facility documentation destroyed and the shared accommodation
vacated from one day to the next. An orderly takeover is thus not possible.
In Tyrol, Commission 1 ascertained unacceptable deficits in two shared
accommodations that had been caused by the insolvency of a major operator.
The owner and operator associations that took over the shared accommodations
found facilities with no staff but fully occupied with adolescents. The living
areas were in a state of serious neglect because no investments had been made
for a long time due to the pending insolvency. It took several months until
the operation could be run with a full team and under acceptable hygienic
conditions.
Intolerable conditions at
the time of takeover
XX
The unequal treatment of unaccompanied minor refugees compared with other minors
must be stopped.
XX
Specialised accommodation forms with the appropriate care and crisis intervention
must be provided for unaccompanied minor refugees and young adults with special
needs.
XX
New owners and operators must be supported when taking over shared accommodation
in order to rectify deficits as quickly as possible.
2.3.12 Positive observations
The adolescents in a facility in Vorarlberg were very positive about the care
they received. Commission 1 also had a good impression. One positive aspect
of the care concept was the inclusion of time-out trips in order to prevent the
breaking of relationships if it is not possible for the adolescent to be taken
care of in another shared accommodation at that time. The NPM has been
requesting the introduction of such a model for years, as it avoids the breakup
of relationships when adolescents move to a different facility.
Time-out trips to prevent
relationships from
breaking
Overall, the highly flexible way in which crisis situations are handled in
Vorarlberg deserves praise. There is a family crisis service with an on-call duty
in the night and at weekends that places children and adolescents in a crisis
residential group if required. Adolescents who should not be accommodated
in shared accommodation for different reasons are offered a place in semiresidential care. Care and upbringing are not transferred to the facility in this
case. The goal is to bring these adolescents back into care.
Family crisis service and
semi-residential care
86
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