niles were aware of the existence of an external complaint body. The juveniles should be informed when being received in the Pedagogical-therapeutic intensive area of the existence of the ombudsman and of his contact data, for instance by this being posted on the board. Reaction: The juveniles in Schwarzenbruck intensive care department for education and therapy were informed, including by being given a postcard, of the possibility to complain to an independent ombudsperson (in particular with regard to violent acts, sexual harassment or sexual abuse), and were actively called upon to report such incidents. All the juveniles were also handed a comprehensive list of rights which had been worked out together with juveniles as part of the facility’s participation concept. The juveniles’ statement towards the Joint Commission that they knew nothing about the existence of an external complaint body had led to the recommendation of the Joint Commission for instance to make an additional posting on the blackboard and would, with the assistance of the government’s home supervision, be passed on to the head of the facility requesting to accordingly implement this and to inform the juveniles several times of the opportunities open to them to make complaints where necessary. The juveniles mentioned that their relationship with some members of staff was difficult. They felt that some of the staff treated them aggressively, and they said that they were frequently shouted at. One juvenile reported that a member of staff had thrown an article at him during the morning sports festival because he had not been paying attention. All in all, the juveniles had the impression that the staff behaved itself in a manner for which they themselves would be punished. Reaction: The staff member who was said to have thrown a flag at the juvenile was a member of the staff of the school (which belonged to the Pedagogical-therapeutic intensive area), and not of the intensive care department for education and therapy itself. The incident would be taken up and dealt with as part of cooperation with the school. Such acts were not acceptable. Just as shouting at the juveniles, this was not part of the conceptual requirements, nor was this what the head of the facility wanted to see happening. The Joint Commission noticed how little the juveniles had settled into their rooms. The rooms looked uncomfortable and also very untidy. There were virtually no personal items. Reaction: The supervisory authority will be glad to take up the information provided by the Joint Commission with regard to the juveniles’ relatively impersonal, untidy rooms, in contrast to the appearance of the facility in other respects, as a suggestion for future talks between the government’s home supervision and representatives of the facility. The contradiction that had been found could be caused by the problematic starting situation of the juveniles themselves. Further suggestions 75