Childcare - how does it work in Germany?

Kindergarten

Children between the ages of zero and five can attend kindergarten. Attendance is generally voluntary, and parents decide whether the child should attend a daycare center or be placed with a daycare provider. In the short form, this is also referred to as Kita.

Daycare refers to larger facilities that have a nursery for children under three and/or a kindergarten for older children. Day care usually refers to placement with a qualified professional that can accommodate up to five children. In addition, there are also large care facilities that can accommodate more children.

In principle, there is a legal entitlement to a daycare place for every child who is at least one year old. However, in almost all federal states there are fewer daycare places than children of this age, which means that parents often have difficulty finding a place for their child. The best chances of getting a Kita place are in late summer, i.e. in August or September, when the older children have left kindergarten and go to elementary school. In the other months, places become available only very rarely, for example when families move

There are no fixed criteria for deciding which children are admitted. This is left to the free decision of the facility. The daycare centers usually have a list in which parents can have their child admitted. It is helpful to look intensively and early for a place in a daycare center.

Before you can enroll your child in a particular daycare center, you usually need proof that you are entitled to a daycare place and how many hours per week this entitlement covers. In most federal states, there is a basic entitlement to about four or five hours per day or 20 to 25 hours. More hours per day or week usually presuppose a corresponding need, for example, because parents work more hours per day or week. There are also other reasons for longer childcare hours; however, this varies from state to state.

Even though the 16 federal states determine the basic regulations for entitlement to a daycare place, the main responsibility lies with the local youth welfare offices. This means that parents should contact the youth welfare office in the city or main town of a municipality and apply for an entitlement certificate there. This entitlement certificate has very different names, sometimes it is called a voucher.

With this voucher, you then go to various daycare centers near your home and register your child. It can be very helpful to make your special situation clear to the daycare center management and to emphasize how important it is to you that your child starts at the daycare center as soon as possible.

In addition, it is advisable to take someone with you who speaks German, both for the application and for registering at the daycare center or with a daycare provider. The application forms are almost always in German and the daycare center managers also very rarely speak Russian or Ukrainian.

The ElternHotline wishes you success in finding a daycare place for your child.

Regulations of individual federal states (if available)

The following overview is based on the information available on the websites of the responsible state authorities, i.e. mostly the ministry responsible for daycare centers.

Baden-Württemberg

There are (so far) no official state regulations. The municipalities regulate this individually.

Bavaria

There are (so far) no official state regulations. The municipalities regulate this individually.

Berlin

A so-called Kita voucher is required for the Kita place. It can be applied for here: https://fms.verwalt-berlin.de/kita/frm/main?execution=e1s1

Brandenburg

There is a legal entitlement to a daycare place for all children who are at least one year old. Parents are asked to approach the Kitas and the Kitas are asked to accept the children unbureaucratically.

Bremen

There are no official country regulations (yet). Parents can contact us at the following email address: ankommen@bildung.bremen.de.

Hamburg

There is a legal right to five hours of care per day. Parents must find a free place themselves. An overview with free places is available at the following link: https://padlet.com/PariHH/Kitaplatz_GefluechteteKinder. In order to obtain the required daycare voucher, an application for daycare must be submitted to the responsible district office no later than the day care begins. The Kita management should help with the application.

Hesse

There are (so far) no official state regulations. Registration takes place at the youth welfare office of the place of residence.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

There are (so far) no official state regulations. The Kita places must be sought individually and privately.

Lower Saxony

There are no official country regulations (so far).

North Rhine-Westphalia

Formally, there is a legal right to a daycare place (but this does not mean that you will actually get a place). The following list can help in the search for a Kitaplatz: https://www.kita.nrw.de/kinder-betreuen/kita-finder. Another helpful website is: https://www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/fluechtlinge/ukraine-nrw-informationen-ueberblick-102.html

Rhineland-Palatinate

There are (so far) no official state regulations. A Kitaplatz can be applied for; the Kitas are to increase the number of places.

Saarland

There are no official country regulations (yet). Further information could not be found.

Saxony

There are (so far) no official state regulations, except that there is an entitlement. An application can be made to the relevant state office: https://amt24.sachsen.de/web/guest/leistung/-/sbw/Kinderkrippe+Children+up+to+three+years+in+a+facility+in+municipal+traegerschaft+anmeldung-6000403-leistung-0. (https://amt24.sachsen.de/web/guest/leistung/-/sbw/Kinderkrippe+children+up+to+three+years+in+a+facility+in+municipal+trust+register-6000403-performance-0).

Saxony-Anhalt

There are no official country regulations (so far). We do not have any information.

Schleswig-Holstein

There are (so far) no official state regulations, except for the indication that in principle there is an entitlement. Parents can apply for a Kita place at their local municipality. Since a place cannot always be offered immediately, it is pointed out that the application should be made as early as possible.

Thuringia

There are no official country regulations (so far). We do not have any information.

Published on 22.03.2022