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1. Forthcoming policy developments

2. Ongoing debates

Forthcoming policy developments

Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

In November 2025, Mareike Wulf was appointed Germany's first Federal Government's Commissioner for Children. She is tasked with coordinating measures under the National Action Plan "New Opportunities for Children" and raising the visibility of the rights of children and adolescents.

A federal commissioner for children does not replace Germany's international obligation to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been in force since 1992 and carries the weight of a federal law. Since November 2015, the independent UN CRC Monitoring Unit at the German Institute for Human Rights (Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte) has overseen the implementation of children's rights in Germany. It reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, advises policymakers and civil society and promotes child-rights-based research. Since 2023, this monitoring unit has been permanently integrated into the Institute's institutional funding, ensuring its long-term stability.

There is currently no independent ombuds office that functions like a traditional complaint and mediation office, in other words, it cannot process individual complaints from children and adolescents directly. However, child and youth ombuds offices have existed at federal state and local levels, at the latest since the 2021 reform of Social Code Book VIII (SGB VIII), where they are officially established as contact points for independent advice and conflict mediation in the field of youth services.

National strategy on mental health for young people 

The coalition agreement of the 21st legislative period (CDU, CSU and SPD) for 2025-2029 places a focus on the mental health of young people. A mental health for young people strategy is currently being drawn up, with the first measures expected to be implemented from 2026. The strategy will prioritise prevention and the early detection of mental illnesses, through initiatives such as parent education, teacher training and destigmatising mental health issues. Funding is already being directed to schools with high social needs (the "Startchancen" programme), where so-called opportunity budgets can also be spent on health promotion and mental well-being. In addition, many schools are establishing multiprofessional teams, consisting of school social workers, counselling teachers and psychologists, to provide early support.

Act to strengthen healthcare provision (GVSG)

The act to strengthen healthcare provision (Gesundheitsversorgungsstärkungsgesetz, GVSG) is introducing, for the first time, a formal system to plan child and adolescent psychotherapy services based on their actual needs. The goal is to address the structural disadvantage young people have historically faced compared adult services. Gradual implementation beginning in 2026 is expected to reduce waiting times and improve local access to services.

Suicide prevention act (SuizidPrävG-E) 

A suicide prevention act is currently in preparation. It aims to strengthen and sustain the framework conditions for effective suicide prevention. Planned measures include the establishment of a national expert centre and a nationwide 24/7 crisis support service, including digital offerings, with a particular focus on children, adolescents and young adults.

"Inclusive Solution" in child and youth services (SGB VIII)

A major upcoming reform is the so-called "inclusive solution" in child and youth services, which aims to ensure children and adolescents with disabilities are treated equally and to move away from separate service systems. Until now, young people with mental or physical disabilities have received support under different Social Code books (SGB IX and SGB XII), while non-disabled children and adolescents are covered under SGB VIII. This separation is considered confusing, bureaucratic and difficult for affected families to navigate. 

The federal government is continuing the participation process with professional associations, federal states (Länder) and local authorities to implement full inclusion of all young people under SGB VIII. A draft law for comprehensive inclusive child and youth services will be submitted in early 2026, with all necessary legal changes implemented by 2028. From that point onwards, youth services will have overall responsibility for all young people, regardless of disability status. One major step towards the inclusive solution is the introduction of case navigators (Verfahrenslotsen), which youth welfare offices have been legally required to provide since 2024. These case navigators support young people with (or at risk of) disabilities and their families in navigating the complex system of benefits, support services and rehabilitation. They help with orientation, clarify responsibilities and facilitate access to appropriate services. The case navigators are considered a key element in preparing for the planned consolidation of all services within the under youth welfare system by 2028. 

Protection of children and adolescents against sexual violence 

On 1 July 2025, the act to strengthen structures against sexual violence against children and adolescents (Gesetz zur Stärkung der Strukturen gegen sexuelle Gewalt an Kindern und Jugendlichen) came into force. This law obligates all institutions, associations and organisations working with minors to develop and implement comprehensive protection policies. It also legally establishes the offices of the Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse Issues (Unabhängige Beauftragte für Fragen des sexuellen Kindesmissbrauchs, UBSKM) as a permanent institution. The UBSKM reports regularly to the Bundestag and Bundesrat, ensuring the continuous advancement of political action in child protection. A council of affected individuals has also been firmly established to ensure that the perspectives of survivors of sexualised violence are systematically included in political processes. Binding quality standards will apply across child and youth services: protection policies and case analyses will be mandatory to ensure lessons are learned from past failures. A new medical advisory service for child protection professionals, such as paediatricians, has also been created to provide rapid expert support in cases of suspected abuse. Professional associations have welcomed these steps as a milestone, however they stress that further action is needed. Issues such as sexualised violence in digital spaces and violence in teenage relationships require greater attention, along with sustained resources for prevention and intervention. Cross-state collaboration in cases of risks to child welfare is also being strengthened, with standardised procedures and reporting chains between youth welfare offices, schools, police and the judiciary to ensure consistent responses nationwide. Overall, the political message is clear: no child should fall through cracks in the system. Protecting children against violence – at home, in institutions or online – is the highest priority. This commitment is reflected in new legislation, strengthened youth welfare services and heightened professional awareness.

Ongoing debates

Cannabis legalisation and youth protection

The partial legalisation of cannabis(Pillar 1) has reignited the policy debate about youth and health protection. While possession and home cultivation limits have been established, implementation of the planned Pillar 2 with regional pilot projects for controlled sales in specialised stores has been delayed. Key obstacles include unresolved legal issues, EU compliance and restrictive statutory conditions, which have resulted in appropriate applications being rejected.

In this context, discussions continue over the effectiveness of existing youth protection measures, such as bans on underage consumption, buffer zones ("Bannmeilen") and monitoring mechanisms – are truly effective. For child and youth welfare, the focus is increasingly shifting towards preventive, educational and advisory programmes, since the commercial pilot projects with strict youth protection and accompanying research have not yet been realised. This debate highlights the need for health-focused prevention, early education and low-threshold support to enable young people to make responsible choices regarding psychoactive substances in the long term. 

Healthy nutrition and physical activity 

Despite numerous initiatives, overweight remains a problem among adolescents. Around 15% of young people are considered overweight. The main causes are unhealthy eating habits and insufficient physical activity, exacerbated in part by the pandemic. To address this problem, the federal government adopted a national nutrition strategy in January 2024, which includes around 90 measures aimed at making healthy nutrition more accessible for everyone, especially children and adolescents. Planned measures include improvements in communal catering (healthier meals in day care centres, schools and cafeterias) and greater availability of sustainably produced foods. It also promotes plant-based diets, and an interministerial working group has been established to address nutrition and physical activity policies jointly. One key topic under discussion is the ban on advertisements of unhealthy foods aimed at children. According to the coalition agreement, advertising for products high in sugar, fat or salt that target children under 14 will be restricted. A corresponding draft law – the Children's Food Advertising Act (Kinder-Lebensmittel-Werbesegetz, KLWG) – has been drawn up, but it faces resistance from parts of the business sector and the FDP. Health and consumer organisations are pressing for swift approval, citing clear evidence that junk food advertising influences children's consumption habits and contributes to unhealthy diets. 

Additional measures under consideration include fiscal incentives, such as zero VAT on fruit and vegetables and a sugar tax on soft drinks – proposals that are supported by the Association of Paediatricans (Berufsverband der Kinder- und Jugendärzte, BVKJ). 

Promoting physical activity is also on the agenda. Children and adolescents often fail to meet the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Programmes such as IN FORM are being further developed to counteract sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition. Discussions about a mandatory daily sports or activity component in schools have gained new momentum in light of the pandemic's impacts. Overall, there is broad consensus that a healthy lifestyle – including balanced nutrition and regular physical activity – should be promoted at an early age and supported structurally to advance health equity.

The federal network of food councils (Bundesnetzwerk der Ernährungsräte) and 13 other organisations advocate for a sustainable, socially just and ecological food and agricultural policy. In a position paper from 17 March 2025, they call for the accelerated implementation of an integrated food policy to address rising health, environmental and social costs.

The key demands are:

• affordable, healthy and sustainably sourced food for all, with a stronger emphasis on a more plant-based and locally produced options
• reform of food taxation in favour of healthy, climate-friendly and certified organic staples
• enforcement of the right to adequate food as part of public services for basic needs
• improvement of communal catering, including free, organic, regional and climate-friendly meals in schools and day care centres according to the standards of the German Nutrition Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung, DGE)
• stricter rules for food advertising, labelling and nutrient reduction
• transparent reporting on the impact of the food system on health, the environment and social participation

A particular focus is on free school and day care meals, the implementation of which is currently being discussed politically. The Food Council is closely following the debate and advocates for the recommendations of the Citizens' Council "Nutrition in Transition" ("Ernährung im Wandel") to be implemented during the current legislative period.

Digital participation and protection in AI-driven media environments

Current research (DJI, 2025) indicates that while digital media offers opportunities in terms of information, participation and networking, it can also negatively impact the mental health of young people, for example through excessive screen time, cyberbullying, social comparison pressure or distorted self-images. These risks are exacerbated by the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI), as AI-driven algorithms personalise content, attract attention and define interactions – often without transparency for users. In particular, AI-based recommendation and amplification systems, deepfakes, automated image and text generation as well as AI-powered chatbots can increase disinformation, emotional dependency and psychological stress among adolescents.

In 2025, the federal government set up an expert commission Protecting Children and Young People in the Digital World (Kinder- und Jugendschutz in der digitalen Welt). This commission is tasked, among other things, with reviewing regulatory measures. Currently, platforms such as Instagram or TikTok are officially restricted to users aged 13 and over under EU regulations, but age verification is easy to bypass. Discussions are ongoing about raising the minimum age to 14 or 16, or introducing more reliable age verification methods. Moreover, under the EU Digital Services Act, the government is advocating for particularly addictive features – such as endless scrolling feeds or autoplay videos – to be limited or disabled for minors. 

At both the national and European level, debates are focusing on stronger regulation of AI systems themselves to protect the rights of children and adolescents. Key priorities include algorithm transparency, child-friendly default settings ("privacy by design"), AI risk assessments and special protection standards for minors under the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. The aim is to design AI-based business models in ways that are appropriate for young people without fundamentally restricting digital participation.

Child and youth welfare actors emphasise that regulation alone is not enough and they actively call for a preventive approach. Efforts focus on systematically expanding media and AI literacy, providing low-threshold advisory and support services, strengthening prevention and ensuring the meaningful involvement of young people in shaping digital and AI-related protection measures. The goal is to develop a comprehensive approach to youth protection that integrates regulation, empowerment and participation, rather than relying solely on technical access restrictions.

Youth-oriented medical care and prevention

In the context of the hospital reform, the Green Party parliamentary group has voiced concerns that recent improvements in hospital planning could be rolled back. They call for the preservation of specialised service groups in paediatric medicine and surgery to ensure that children's hospitals are not eliminated as part of general cost-cutting measures. The German Society of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, DGKJ) also warns that paediatric care could become underfunded, criticising the absence of clearly defined, age-appropriate service categories for children and young people in the new structures. There is a risk that the quality of care for chronically and severely ill children and adolescents will decline unless contingency costs are adequately calculated. The government emphasises that inpatient care for children and adolescents must be safeguarded.

Other challenges are also emerging. Outpatient care is under pressure, as paediatric practices in many areas are often overstretched and are unable to find successors. The lack of specialists in child and adolescent psychiatry as well as licensed child and adolescent psychotherapists leads to month-long waiting times. Paediatric nursing is also affected: generalist training has resulted in a shortage of specialised staff for children's hospitals. The German Society of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (Berufsverband der Kinder- und Jugendärzt:innen, BVKJ) calls for stronger paediatric specialisation in nursing training. Shortages of paediatric medications, such as antibiotic syrups and fever remedies, have further highlighted the need to adapt pharmaceutical supplies. Legal measures to improve stockpiling and production in Europe were introduced in 2023/2024.

Overall, the BVKJ is calling for a comprehensive child health pact ("Pakt für Kindergesundheit"), which includes demands to improve primary care for children, reduce bureaucracy and increase remuneration to ensure a sufficient number of practices is available. It also emphasises a cross-sectoral approach for improved coordination between outpatient practices, hospitals, school health services, social paediatric centres and youth welfare institutions. Overall, the current discussion focuses on closing healthcare gaps and adapting structures so that young people receive optimal care across the entire system

Health equity and child poverty

Health policy for young people is increasingly being developed across policy areas to promote health equity and ensure that social background, income or disability do not determine health and participation opportunities. Initiatives such as the federal government's Youth Strategy and the Startchancen programme reflect this integrated approach. In this context, many organisations continue to advocate the introduction of a child basic income (Kindergrundsicherung). Its aim is to consolidate existing benefits, reduce child poverty more effectively and thereby mitigate health risks. Although the proposal is currently considered politically unsuccessful, it remains a key priority (Bündnis Kindergrundsicherung), since child poverty has been shown to have negative effects on health, education and social participation.

Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic

The central perspective of the interministerial working group on the health impacts of COVID-19 on children and young people (2023) (Interministerielle Arbeitsgruppe (IMA) "Gesundheitliche Auswirkungen auf Kinder und Jugendliche durch Corona") is that support services must be permanently integrated into regulatory systems such as education, healthcare and youth services. These services should be low threshold, non-discriminatory and resilient to crises. The aim is not only to compensate for pandemic-related harm, but to strengthen the long-term resilience of young people and support systems and to improve preparedness for future crises.

The Cologne Declaration of 2024 (Kölner Erklärung) confirms this with a statement from education, social and youth work professionals as well as psychologists and psychotherapists. It lists numerous measures that must work together in response to the pandemic's impact on young people: from additional sports and physical activity programmes in schools, the expansion of open youth work and leisure opportunities to low-threshold counselling and therapy services. The declaration calls for comprehensive support for the "Generation Corona" and for measures to enhance their resilience. Many young people require psychological, medical and social support simultaneously as a result of the pandemic, and this support must be provided in a coordinated manner. Political commitment is needed to translate the lessons learned from COVID-19 into permanent structures. These include long-term investment in prevention, increasing the number of specialist professionals (e.g., therapists, social workers) and ongoing scientific monitoring of child and youth health. Only a coordinated and proactive response can meet these growing needs and prevent short-term crises from causing lasting harm to the younger generation.