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1. Forthcoming policy developments

2. Ongoing debates

Forthcoming policy developments

The 2021 Act to Strengthen Children and Youth (Kinder- und Jugendstärkungsgesetz, KJSG) paved the way for a more inclusive child and youth services system. Social Code Book VIII (SGB VIII) now explicitly stipulates that youth work programmes must be open and accessible to young people with disabilities. The equal participation of children and young people with and without disabilities as well as the removal of existing barriers are established as a binding mandate for youth welfare services. For the first time, school social work was formally recognised in Article 13a SGB VIII as part of youth work and placed on an equal legal footing with youth social work programmes. In the long term, the government aims to implement an "inclusive solution", whereby, from 2028 at the latest, all services for young people with and without disabilities will be provided by a single point of access via child and youth services. A draft of the children and youth services inclusion act (Kinder- und Jugendhilfe-Inklusionsgesetzes, IKJHG) was approved by the Federal Cabinet at the end of 2024 and submitted to the legislative process. However, due to the collapse of the governing coalition, the draft was not debated in the Bundestag during the shortened legislative period. The development of this law remains a key issue for the coming years.

Ongoing debates

Debates on and in youth work take place in academia and research, in alliances of child and youth services institutions [e.g. Child and Youth Welfare Association (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Kinder- und Jugendhilfe, AGJ)], in consortia or alliances in the field of youth work [e.g. the open doors association of North Rhine-Westphalia (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Offene Türen Nordrhein-Westfalen, AGOT NRW)], the German Federal Youth Council (Deutscher Bundesjugendring, DBJR), the federal state and local youth councils (Jugendringe), as well as in a range of specialist publications (e.g. 'deutsche jugend' magazine). Conferences and workshops attended by decision-makers from state and local youth offices, organisations and more, as well as youth work professionals, offer further platforms for the debates surrounding youth work. The committees responsible for child and youth policy in the various municipalities (Gemeinde), districts (Landkreise), urban districts (kreisfreie Städte), federal states (Länder) and nationwide (such as the local child and youth service committees) offer further forums for debating matters of this nature. Foundations also weigh in on the debates surrounding child and youth work.

A series of debates have long been waged to do with the legal mandate of youth work. They focus on aspects including to what extent youth work can be incorporated into social functions such as care for school-age children or preventive activities, and what role youth work plays or should play in this context.

Given that child and youth work is a mandatory requirement of the local authorities, debates often centre on the provision of adequate staff resources and budgets for youth work and the upkeep of youth work services. Attracting youth work professionals is a current topic in child and youth work as well as in other areas of youth services.

Regional trends can be seen in the demographic change. Here, one recurring subject in particular relates to youth work in rural areas and the challenges faced there. The emphasis is on the importance of local, reachable facilities and services for youth work locally despite the falling number of young people in these areas.

In youth work, the following topics are central to ongoing discussions:

Youth participation: Participation is also a recurring topic in youth work, not only in terms of how child and youth work can be structured participatively, but also in terms of how political participation by young people in their living environments (such as local participation processes or participation in youth services planning) can be increased and structured.

The Federal Ministry for Youth has implemented the National Action Plan for Child and Youth Participation as a further development of the federal government's youth strategy. The final report summarises all results and recommendations of the NAP and provides an overview of the entire NAP process. It was published on 12 May 2025. Some of the recommendations are also presented in a separate brochure, which specifically addresses child and youth participation within the federal government's areas of responsibility. These recommendations were presented to the Federal Cabinet in February 2025. 

As one element of this NAP for Child and Youth Participation, the Federal Ministry for Education, Youth, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMBFSFJ) and the German Federal Youth Council (DBJR) presented the quality standards on Child and Youth Participation, which contains a lengthy chapter on child and youth work. 

Political education: Closely linked to the topic of participation is the topic of child and youth work as a central area of political and democratic education. As societies show signs of growing democracy fatigue and rejection, and democracies are increasingly faced with new challenges, the federal government’s 16th Child and Youth Report (2020), which deals with the topic of political education during the different phases of growing up and contains an extensive chapter on child and youth work, has given major momentum to the debate. In terms of the participatory design of services, in particular, and – in the case of youth associations – their internal structures, it identifies compelling spheres of experience for democratic action in child and youth work services. Among other things, it lists as key challenges the further development of political media education, with a particular focus on the digital environment, cooperation with the actors of extracurricular political youth education, and a need for further training and professional development. In the meantime, inputs from the 16th Child and Youth Report have been taken up in various forms within and outside of child and youth work, and these have contributed to political awareness-raising of the importance of political education for young people.

In addition, the federal government's 17th Child and Youth Report, published in 2024, once again addresses the importance of political education, but places it more explicitly in the context of young people's diverse life situations, their long-term perspectives and the structural framework of youth welfare services. In its 2022 position paper on the mission and objectives of political education in youth work and youth social work ("Auftrag und Anspruch politischer Bildung in der Jugendarbeit/Jugendsozialarbeit”), the Child and Youth Welfare Association (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kinder- und Jugendhilfe, AGJ) formulated important elaborations and details. Specifically, the paper emphasises the importance of free spaces and areas where young people can debate and discuss controversial topics. It highlights providers' responsibility to ensure political education is structurally supported, points to growing demands on the attitudes, professionalism and qualifications of practitioners and advocates the systematic development of political education in youth work and youth social work. Overall, child and youth work continues to be seen as an essential space for experiencing and practicing democratic participation. However, current societal conditions – such as digitalisation, polarisation, conflicts over neutrality and attitudes and structural requirements – have made discussions increasingly focussed on professionalism, provider responsibility and structural frameworks.

Addressing hostile attitudes: Youth work plays a key role in addressing anti-democratic and hostile attitudes, which in recent years have spread increasingly into the social mainstream. Research by the Work and Research Unit for Fostering Democracy and the Prevention of Extremism (Arbeits- und Forschungsstelle Demokratieförderung und Extremismusprävention, AFS) of the German Youth Institute (Deutsches Jugendinstitut, DJI) shows that young people today are more frequently exposed to normalised forms of racism, anti-Semitism, sexism and far-right narratives, which occur not only in fringe environments but increasingly in everyday contexts. Youth work professionals face the two-fold challenge of strengthening democratic education processes while also responding pedagogically to hostile attitudes, polarisation and disinformation. At the same time, youth work institutions themselves are coming under growing pressure. The rise of anti-democratic actors has led, both locally and nationally, to attacks on providers, to demands for political “neutrality”, funding cuts and the delegitimisation of political education. Yet youth work is more important than ever as a protective space and a place for learning about democracy, as shown by model reports from Mobile Beratung Berlin (MBR) and the child and youth (welfare) policy report (Kinder- und Jugend(hilfe) MONITOR 2025).

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a lasting effect on youth work. Programmes and participation rates dropped sharply in 2020 and 2021. In 2021, only around 4.4 million children, adolescents and young adults participated in publicly funded programmes, roughly half the number in 2019. Many institutions were forced to close temporarily or switch to digital formats. At the same time, the psychosocial effects are still evident. According to an interministerial study, 73% of young people still reported feeling psychologically burdened in 2023. In the meantime, youth work is recovering slowly (for instance, in Hamburg, participation rates in 2023 were still 20% below pre-crisis levels but already 33% higher than in the pandemic year 2021), nevertheless, there is still an increased need for support, particularly to address pandemic-related educational and developmental gaps and to promote young people's mental health.

Digitalisation and digital youth work: Since the pandemic, digital youth work has received a significant boost. Many providers and youth centres have developed new online offerings (such as Discord exchange platforms, YouTube video tutorials and interactive Instagram activities) to stay connected with young people even under contact restrictions. Efforts are now underway to integrate these digital formats more sustainably and to expand them further. The German Youth Institute (Deutsche Jugendinstitut) notes that youth work has responded to these new challenges in a flexible, solution-oriented manner, while also calling for greater support, training and opportunities to share experiences with digital methods. Competent and creative use of digital media – by both professionals and young people – has become a central area of focus, connecting with young people in their everyday lives and strengthening their media literacy.

Sustainability and education for sustainable development (ESD): Environmental and climate protection are among the most pressing concerns of today's youth. Youth work addresses this by integrating education for sustainable development (ESD) as a cross-cutting theme and creating opportunities for young people to engage in sustainability initiatives. UNESCO's "ESD 2030" programme highlights the central role of young people in achieving the global sustainability goals. In Germany, participation formats have been established to utilise this potential. Examples include youth conferences and councils such as youcoN and youpaN, where young people can design and lead their own projects on climate protection and sustainable development. As a result, sustainability has become a key focus of both education and practice within youth work.

Diversity and inclusion: Open child and youth work is intended to be an environment for all young people – regardless of their background, migration history, gender or sexual identity, disability, etc. Awareness of diversity and anti-discrimination has grown in recent years. Many institutions are reviewing their programmes to ensure they are accessible and appealing to previously underrepresented groups, while also providing further training for staff in diversity-conscious pedagogy. One example is the Juleica training module "Seeing diversity – living diversity: diversity in youth work" ("Vielfalt sehen – Vielfalt leben: Diversität in der Jugendarbeit"), which helps youth leaders design programmes that reflect the perspectives of all young people. Promoting diversity is increasingly recognised as a key indicator of quality in youth work.

The European Youth Work Agenda and the Bonn Process in Germany

The European Youth Work Agenda (EYWA) was adopted by the Council of Youth Ministers in December 2020, during Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and reconfirmed by the 3rd Youth Work Convention (EYWC). The term “youth work” is broadly defined and refers to the multitude of different services for and involving young people, including those provided by paid and voluntary staff in formal and informal contexts. The eight priority areas of the EYWA are:

• Development and expansion of youth work services
• Quality development
• A common direction for the youth work community of practice
• Beyond the youth work community of practice
• Visibility, promotion and recognition
• Innovation and emerging challenges
• Creation of policy frameworks
• A strategic framework for youth work development

The path towards putting the EYWA into action is known as the Bonn Process, which kicked off during the 3rd EYWC. Its implementation takes place at all levels, from local to European, and encompasses all areas of youth work. In Germany, the Bonn Process is strengthening cooperation at the national level between a number of child and youth work organisations and bodies, notably the Federal Network on Youth Work and the Academic Network on Youth Work, as well as through the Federal Congress on Youth Work.

Since  1 December 2021 a transfer office works to support the implementation of the European Youth Work Agenda in Germany. It was affiliated with a research partnership between the German Youth Institute (DJI) and TU Dortmund University and received funding from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). Its work centred around building networks between practitioners, researchers and policymakers as well as strengthening and sharpening the profile of the very heterogenous field of child and youth work (including youth social work). In regard to the implementation of the Bonn Process in Germany, three key aspects emerged as particularly relevant. These are:

• Defining the relationship between child and youth work and youth social work

• Experts – Recruitment, training, support and recognition

• Visibility of youth work

In response to these challenges, the transfer office and various partners implemented a number of projects. They included a podcast, various dialogue formats and events for professionals, and a nationwide online survey of providers of open-door youth work in cooperation with Hamburg University of Applied Sciences.  A new online platform for the Bonn Process was recently established within the Jugendhilfeportal, where interested parties can learn about the European Youth Work Agenda and the Bonn Process as well as access the documents and content that was produced by the EYWA transfer office.