1.5 Cross-sectoral approach with other ministries
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Mechanisms and actors
A cross-sectoral approach with other ministries is a cornerstone of youth policy in Germany. It is included at federal level in the federal government's Youth Policy (Jugendstrategie) and the work of the Interministerial Working Group on Youth (Interministerielle Arbeitsgruppe Jugend, IMA Jugend) (see 1.4. Youth policy decision-making).
Section 19.1 of the Joint Rules of Procedure of the Federal Ministries (Gemeinsame Geschäftsordnung der Bundesministerien, GGO), which were last updated on 22 January 2020, requires the federal ministries to cooperate on matters that are the responsibility of several federal ministries.
Supported by the GGO and Book 8 of the German Social Code – Child and Youth Services (Sozialgesetzbuch Achtes Buch – Kinder- und Jugendhilfe, SGB VIII), the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend, BMFSFJ) cooperates with other ministries as part of a wide variety of partnerships in the youth policy field. This cooperation is also a result of the many laws and regulations relating to young people that are adopted by other ministries (see 1.2. National youth law). Examples include:
- The Young Persons (Protection of Employment) Act (Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz, JArbSchG) from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales, BMAS).
- The Protection of Young Persons Act (Jugendschutzgesetz, JuSchG) and the Youth Courts Act (Jugendgerichtsgesetz, JGG) from the Federal Ministry of Justice (Bundesministerium der Justiz, BMJ).
- Regulations relating to the police, migration and foreign nationals from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (Bundesministerium des Inneren, für Bau und Heimat, BMI).
- Preventive health care from the Federal Ministry of Health (Bundesministerium für Gesundheit, BMG).
- Vocational training from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF).
Outside of cross-sectoral cooperation with other ministries, Section 81 SGB VIII specifically requires legal institutions active in the field of child and youth welfare to work with other bodies and public-sector institutions whose activities affect the lives of young people and their families. These can include social services organisations, schools and education authorities, health authorities, and police and public order authorities, to name a few.
There are also many regional laws and regulations that affect young people in place in the federal states (Länder). Many of these come from outside the youth ministry, which means cross-sectoral cooperation with other ministries takes place at this level, too. In addition, the development of the notion of an Independent Youth Policy (Eigenständige Jugendpolitik) has led to more interministerial cooperation at federal state (Länder) level.
For example, in 2016 Saxony created an interministerial working group on Independent Youth Policy (Interministerielle Arbeitsgruppe Eigenständige Jugendpolitik). The working group has chosen to put the participation of young people in Saxony at the centre of its work.