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  • Policy Paper
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Fostering Children’s Opportunities

Published
January 26, 2026
Authors

  • Dr. Dominic Afscharian

  • Torben Fischer

  • Laura Bänsch

  • Sara Herrmann
Contact
Judith Straub
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Summary

Compared to other European countries, Germany has a particularly high number of children living in social and material deprivation. Despite its strong economic performance, the situation has deteriorated in recent years – other EU countries are significantly further ahead in this regard.

The European Child Guarantee provides a common framework for better protecting disadvantaged children from poverty and exclusion and ensuring their access to key services such as education, childcare, and healthcare. While some countries are actively taking advantage of this opportunity, Germany has so far fallen short of its potential.

This policy paper uses European examples to show where successful approaches are already being implemented and what reform steps can be derived from them for Germany. The focus is on concrete, realistically implementable measures that can strengthen equal opportunities for children at an early stage and in a sustainable manner.

Key Findings

We present seven policy measures that German policymakers should consider:

  • Three easily achievable goals fit well with German institutions and political discourse: simplifying education and participation benefits, establishing an office for child welfare, and reviewing a framework regulation for family centers.
  • Three controversial measures are fundamentally well suited to the German system but are politically contentious: increasing permanent funding, revising parental leave benefits, and enshrining children’s rights in the constitution.
  • A paradigm shift requires institutional changes but follows recent trends in the German social policy debate: the introduction of a proactive family policy.

Authors

Dr. Dominic Afscharian

Project Manager

Dominic Afscharian applies his research experience and methodological expertise to the project work at the ZSP.

Torben Fischer

Project Manager

Torben Fischer is not only responsible for planning and managing projects at the ZSP, he is also in charge of designing and developing studies and projects.

Laura Bänsch

Alumni

Laura Bänsch worked as a project assistant at ZSP from November 2022 to December 2025.

Sara Herrmann

Intern

Sara Herrmann supports the research department as an intern.

Further information

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