Vienna Timeout Shared Apartment for Juvenile Repeat Offenders: Renovation Completed, Move-In Imminent

The timeout shared apartment is aimed at children between the ages of eleven and 13 who have repeatedly committed serious crimes and are classified as so-called repeat serious offenders. In the 140-square-meter house with shatterproof windows and doors, up to 16 children and adolescents are to be cared for annually for up to twelve weeks. The exact address is not being made public.

Admission and Procedure

Admission to the shared living arrangement is decided by a commission in which socio-pedagogically trained professionals deliberate together with the police. One prerequisite, among others, is that those affected have been diagnosed with a mental impairment and that other forms of support have previously failed to take hold. Criminal offenses such as armed robberies with knives, as was stated at a presentation in the spring, point to at least one conduct disorder.

Legally, the accommodation is based on the applicable Residential Homes Act (Heimaufenthaltsgesetz). Simultaneously with the admission, an application for review of the measure is filed with the court. Unlike in custody, direct visits are reportedly not planned; however, stays in the adjoining garden or accompanied outings into the city are possible, initially under supervision.

Staff and Concept

Care is provided by an association whose staff are trained, among other things, in de-escalation. Social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and hospital school teachers are deployed. They are intended to work with the children and adolescents to change destructive behavioral patterns. "Bei einem so wegweisenden und sensiblen Projekt wie der Auszeit-WG gilt ganz klar, dass Gründlichkeit vor Schnelligkeit geht," the city councillor's office explained. "Da es sich hier um Kinder in einer hochkomplexen Lebenssituation handelt, muss bei den Vorbereitungen für den Einzug jedes Detail im Ablauf und im Betreuungskonzept durchgeplant sein, damit die Maßnahme ab dem ersten Tag greift."

The office stated verbatim: "Der Einzug wird daher alsbald stattfinden." Originally, a start in May had been announced at a presentation in the spring; the adaptation of the house thus took longer than originally planned. With the renovation now completed, the opening date is within reach.

Observers view the timeout shared apartment as an attempt to close a gap between conventional youth welfare and penal system. The city is thereby responding to a small but particularly conspicuous group of children who could no longer be reached by conventional means. Whether the model holds up is to be demonstrated in practice.

The combination of secure accommodation, therapeutic support, and educational promotion is considered demanding among experts. Critics point to the severity of the intervention for very young those affected; proponents argue that early, intensive intervention is more effective in the long term than later criminal prosecution.