Mothers sound the alarm:

Poorer childcare due to too many after-school care centers?

Christiane Mann fears empty children's chairs in the two Waldviertel daycare facilities.

(Bild: Schindler Klaus/Klaus Schindler)

Either less childcare or pay 400 euros more - mothers raised the alarm in the "Krone" newspaper about the new "municipal compulsion". The state, however, sees a misunderstanding.

There is currently alarm among parents in the Waldviertel region who have their two to two-and-a-half-year-old children in daycare facilities (TBE) in Groß Siegharts or Waidhofen an der Thaya. As some municipalities have now created their own services for two-year-olds - in the form of kindergarten conversions or crèches - parents should make use of these services locally. If they don't - as those affected report - they are threatened that they will suddenly have to pay 400 euros more for childcare!

Too many facilities, too few heads?
The double crux of the story in the sparsely populated Waldviertel: the two TBE children's groups offer much longer and more flexible opening hours as well as a warm lunch. However, the now public facilities in several communities cannot keep up with this. Parents who are reliant on this are therefore hardly able to take advantage of the new services in their localities.

The cooperation with the municipalities is great. I just don't understand why the state is funding so many buildings for childcare for very young children in our sparsely populated area.

Christiane Mann, Leiterin der beiden Tagesbetreuungseinrichtungen

Bild: Schindler Klaus/Klaus Schindler

Up to now, the local communities have covered the costs for non-residents to attend the TBE groups in Groß Siegharts and Waidhofen. This will no longer be the case in future, so parents will have to pay 400 euros each.

"Already pointed out months ago"
"It currently affects eight children here. But I pointed out the plight months ago," confirms Christiane Mann, head of the two crèches, alarming reports from mothers. For TBE, for example, the "Minibahnhof" has now been opened in Waidhofen for 1.7 million euros to make room for a second group like the one in Groß Siegharts. The manager has the childcare staff, but is already worried about having enough children for a second group.

Province identifies "misunderstandings"
The state says that parents and municipalities have talked past each other. "The municipalities are confident that they will find suitable solutions," says the department. The problem is that each municipality naturally wants to use its own group rooms to capacity first and foremost. And: "In general, it should be noted that, according to the law, the admission of children to kindergarten is the responsibility of the municipalities as kindergarten providers," explains the state department.