Child and youth welfare services help to ensure that children grow up in a secure and healthy environment. This can be ensured through child welfare services where the child remains in the family, such as socio-educational family support, day groups or social group work, or in care settings, such as residential groups or foster families. These support measures may be installed in the form of short-term interventions or in a long-term perspective.

Support measures can also take on an international dimension - this is where ISD comes into play.

We are happy to advise and support you in the following constellations:

• When families with ongoing support needs (e.g. in the form of socio-educational family support) move abroad or from abroad to Germany and adequate follow-up needs to be found and arranged.
• If children are to be removed from their family of origin and placed in an alternative care setting and the option of foster care abroad is to be examined.
• If foster families move abroad either completely or temporarily and the assistance is to continue.
• When young people are placed in so-called intensive measures abroad, as a special form of youth welfare that is to be provided abroad.

All of these cases pose particular challenges for youth welfare professionals. They require knowledge of international legal regulations (such as the consultation procedure for cross-border placements) and of the respective social systems in the other country in order to be able to assess what is possible in the first place. Last but not least, language skills for the exchange with foreign specialist agencies are required.

You will find further information on all of this below.

You are also welcome to contact us for advice.