Prien defends cuts to advance maintenance payments – criticism from DGB and Kinderschutzbund

Criticism from trade unions and Kinderschutzbund

Criticism of the savings plans came from several directions in the meantime. „Die Kritik an Priens Sparplänen hielt unterdessen an." Elke Hannack, deputy chairwoman of the German Trade Union Confederation, called on the federal government, according to the report, not to burden families any further. „Die stellvertretende Vorsitzende des Deutschen Gewerkschaftsbunds, Hannack", said accordingly, the state must not put single parents under additional pressure.

The Kinderschutzbund also expressed clear concerns about the planned cuts. The organization warned of negative consequences for the affected families. The federal managing director of the Kinderschutzbund, Grein, doubted that single parents can actually get delinquent ex-partners to pay: „er bezweifle, dass es Alleinerziehenden gelinge, säumige Ex-Partner zur Zahlung zu verpflichten, wenn das schon der Staat nicht schaffe."

Advance maintenance is paid by the state when a separated parent pays no or insufficient child maintenance. It steps in when the parent obligated to pay maintenance defaults or cannot make the agreed payments. With the reform, Prien wants to reduce the circle of eligible persons and thus cut expenditures.

Political resistance against the reform

Politically, Prien is under pressure with her project not only within her own ranks. The plan to pay the advance up to age 16 instead of 18 met with rejection not only from the coalition partner SPD. Associations and the opposition also rallied against the cuts.

In the interview, Prien also pointed to the special German construction: „das eine weitgehende Schonung vor allem für säumige Väter bedeute". She sees in it a shared responsibility of the state for a system that, in her view, primarily relieves the parents obligated to pay maintenance. The reform is intended to change this mechanism and locate the pressure more strongly with the actual maintenance debtors again.

Outlook on the further debate

The discussion comes at a time of rising living costs and growing burdens on family households. Which concrete steps the federal government will present in the coming weeks initially remained open. How the federal and state governments will now concretely implement the resolution already adopted has also not yet been finally clarified.

The Kinderschutzbund announced that it would expand its counseling services for single parents in view of the ongoing debate. Those affected can contact the association's local counseling centers to obtain information on their entitlements and support options.