East-West Divide in Summer Childcare: Greens Demand Uniform Opening Hours

After-School Care Centers in Vorarlberg Closed Longest

Facilities for school-age children — that is, after-school care centers — remain closed the longest. Across all federal states, Vorarlberg's after-school care centers top the list with 45 closure days, followed by Lower Austria with 21.5 and Salzburg with 19 days. On average, crèches are closed eight days in summer, kindergartens nine days, and after-school care centers 14 days.

A closer look at annual opening hours shows that four federal states exceed the Austrian average of 86 percent of facilities open at least 47 weeks per year. Burgenland, Upper Austria, Vienna, and Styria achieve rates above 90 percent. Lower Austria falls just short.

Burgenland and Styria as Role Models

At the other end of the spectrum are Vorarlberg and Salzburg, where fewer than 60 percent of facilities are open more than 47 weeks per year. Vorarlberg sits roughly in the middle at 81 percent, while Tyrol reaches 70 percent. This paints a clear picture: daycare facilities in western Austria tend to have shorter opening hours than those in the east.

The Greens argue that closure periods — particularly in summer — place significant strain on family-job compatibility. They therefore call for family-friendly opening hours beyond the summer months, but also throughout the year as a matter of principle. They see a particular need for catch-up in the western federal states.

Demand for Reliable Childcare

Differences also exist within age groups. After-school care centers, which look after school-age children, are on average closed nearly twice as long as crèches. This affects Vorarlberg especially hard: with 45 closure days for after-school care centers, the westernmost federal state exceeds the national average of 14 days by a wide margin.

According to the Greens, parents in the affected federal states frequently have to rely on private solutions such as grandparents, holiday camps, or vacation days. The party views this as a failure of public authorities that disproportionately affects women, who still shoulder the majority of care work. The demand aims to ensure that kindergartens and after-school care centers are reliably and universally available.

The 2024/25 daycare statistics provide, for the first time, a comparable data foundation for all federal states. The figures are considered robust, as they are based on reports from the respective operators. The Greens are tying their demand to this data and expect policymakers at the state and federal levels to respond.