94 employees

Tyrolean “Jugendland”: bankruptcy and abuse case

The lights could go out in Jugendland, the continuation is uncertain.

(Bild: Jugendland/Halder)

The Tyrolean childcare facility Jugendland GmbH from Innsbruck is insolvent, announced the Kreditschutzverband von 1870 (KSV) on Friday. The state of Tyrol had recently ended its cooperation with the facility. And there are serious suspicions against one of the supervisors.

The state had cited "economic deficiencies". The insolvency affects 94 employees. The application to open insolvency proceedings was filed by Jugendland itself. The company assumes that the reason for the insolvency is that the state of Tyrol has restricted its funding activities. According to KSV, a decision on the continuation of the company will be made soon. The amount of the liabilities was not known for the time being.

Annual financial statements analyzed
According to KSV1870, the annual financial statements for 2020 to 2022 were available. "The equity ratio was clearly negative in 2020 and 2021. A slightly positive equity ratio was then reported in 2022. The annual financial statements for 2023 are not yet available," it said.

State tightened the reins earlier
State Social Affairs Councillor Eva Pawlata (SPÖ) recently explained that there had been problems in the cooperation with Jugendland for some time. Over the past year and a half, the state had repeatedly looked at the financial situation, made numerous suggestions for improvement and set deadlines. This had obviously not led to the desired success. The service contract with Jugendland was worth around four million euros. The facility was responsible for managing eight residential communities with around 70 places for the state.

Liquidation through bankruptcy could certainly have been avoided with political will.

Jugendland-Geschäftsführer Reinhard Halder

Criticism from the Jugendland director: "Avoidable"
Jugendland managing director Reinhard Halder, however, sharply criticized Pawlata: "Liquidation through bankruptcy could certainly have been avoided with political will. But there was no such will, and we have to acknowledge that." Specifically, the problems had started with Pawlata's decision not to index the service fees. The regional councillor countered and said, among other things, that the economic facts had been concealed by the managing director until the very end. However, the Jugendland employees would in any case receive an offer from the state, it was emphasized.

Employees suspected of abuse
Meanwhile, information has now emerged that a supervisor at Jugendland is alleged to have committed sexual assaults against an underage client. The man had been employed there since 1997 and the girl has been cared for at Jugendland since 2019. According to media reports, the victim filed a complaint with the police and is currently being accompanied by the caregivers at Jugendland. The initial assaults (without violence, according to reports) are said to have ended in a sexual relationship; the girl was only 13 years old at the beginning. The counselor is presumed innocent and is said to have stated that the client was already 14 years old. Investigations are ongoing, including the seizure of electronic devices during a house search.