State Councillor for Child Protection

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A boy under the age of 14 who committed more than 200 crimes kept our country on tenterhooks last year

(Bild: Einöder Horst, Krone KREATIV)

In Upper Austria, there are currently 25 under-14-year-olds under the care of others who exhibit endangered or dangerous behavior. Provincial Councillor for Child Protection Michael Lindner (SPÖ) is calling for additional resources from the federal government in order to be able to take preventative measures. For the first time, a curfew is no longer taboo.

According to the state, a total of around 277,000 children and young people under the age of 18 live in Upper Austria, 11,000 of whom received mobile support from child and youth welfare services in 2023, while around 1,500 are in external care, i.e. living with foster parents or in socio-educational shared flats, it was reported at a press conference on Thursday. Around 25 under-14s exhibit at-risk or endangering behavior - in most of them, the behavioral disorder is directed outwards, but in some of them it is also directed against themselves, for example through extreme anorexia etc.

Better prevention
Lindner therefore wants to focus more on prevention, for example by further expanding services such as family coaching. There should also be regular meetings to improve networking between the systems involved - from the social sector to the justice system. He also wants to tighten up care concepts in the intensive care sector. "I don't believe in populist bogus solutions such as lowering the age of punishment," he emphasized. Instead, we need to get to the bottom of the problems and respond with "even better care concepts".

No child is born bad or evil, it is social circumstances that make them so.

Kinderschutz-Landesrat Michael Lindner (SPÖ)

Bild: © Harald Dostal / 2024

The biographies of those affected usually show a whole range of problems, often violence or sexual abuse, alcohol and drugs, criminality in the family, illnesses of caregivers, etc., often cumulatively. Some react with outward violence, but also with self-harm, suicidal thoughts and drug use.

Cases have increased
For Theresia Schlöglmann, Head of the Department of Child and Youth Welfare at the Province of Upper Austria, a "structured exchange" between all institutions "that each do a good job on their own" - such as schools, youth welfare, police, etc. - is therefore necessary, especially in high-risk cases.

More safe places
In the further development of care in the intensive care sector, greater attention is also to be paid to safe places where children can be cared for if their family environment does not offer them this security and where there is a regular daily structure. At present, it is not possible to lock up or detain children and young people against their will, except in cases of immediate danger to themselves or others.

Curfew with psychiatric supervision
Lindner would like the federal government to have the legal means to create a setting with temporary curfews, for example at night. However, he emphasized that this would always require psychiatric supervision.

Research project planned
A research project is also planned that will look at high-risk parameters. When children are very "outgoing", this usually has a history in their biography, and the resulting disorder is often simply a "survival strategy", according to psychologist and educational scientist Michaela Mayer, who is involved in the project. However, those whose reactions are directed inwards, i.e. who are often at risk of suicide, should not be ignored.

150 care processes are being investigated
The research project will look at around 150 care histories of high-risk cases, from which recommendations for social workers and other stakeholders will be derived. The earlier you start, the better, because: "High-risk factors often take effect very early on", such as drug use during pregnancy, explained Mayer. "The first three years are decisive, that's when the foundation is laid for the question: how trustworthy is the world?"

FPÖ wants the age of criminal responsibility to be lowered
FPÖ parliamentary group leader Herwig Mahr once again insisted on lowering the age of criminal responsibility. There is no question that there are often tragic fates behind the cases. However, these should "not become a license for criminal acts", said Mahr. There must be "the necessary legal means to hold young serious criminals criminally responsible". The most important preventative measure, however, is "a family policy that guarantees parents and children an ideal environment".