Debate Over a Time-Out Shared Home: Emmerling Wants to Present the Concept Publicly

In Austria, the Residential Places Act sets out the conditions under which people can be placed in care or residential facilities against their will. Legal experts are particularly critical of applying this law to minor children, meaning those under 14, because it already raises questions of self-determination and proportionality.

Background: The Residential Places Act

Emmerling wants to respond to these objections by publishing the planned concept. She emphasized that she wants to make the proposals transparent and coordinate them with experts before taking any political action.

The NEOS Position and Reactions

The NEOS also support Emmerling’s initiative. In party statements, they repeatedly emphasized that the existing system of child and youth welfare is reaching its limits and that new approaches are necessary. Emmerling is part of the Vienna NEOS team and is active in the city’s youth and family policy.

The Austrian Professional Association of Social Pedagogues (OBDS) has also contributed to the debate. For some time, the association has been calling for better framework conditions for working with so-called system disruptors, meaning young people whose intense behavioral problems repeatedly overwhelm existing support services.

Outlook: What Happens Now

Emmerling’s initiative also receives support from the legal community, including from Heinz Mayer. He has publicly commented in a nuanced manner on questions concerning the HeimAufG and emphasized that any measure restricting liberty requires a clear statutory basis. The ongoing debate will show whether there is a political need to amend the Residential Places Act.

With the planned publication, Emmerling wants to take up the pressure arising from the expert discussion and turn it into a broader public debate. Until the concept is available, it remains unclear which specific legal steps the NEOS intend to derive from it. Responses from youth welfare facilities and statements from other legal experts are also expected in the coming weeks.