- Federal aid to countries with billions for Kitas
The countries will each receive approximately two billion euros from the federal government for their daycare centers to improve childcare services over the next two years. The federal cabinet passed a resolution to this effect on Tuesday using a procedure known as "circulation," as announced by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs on Wednesday morning. The draft bill for the continuation of the so-called "Kita Quality Law" now needs to be passed by the Bundestag and the Bundesrat.
Most of the money is intended to create more childcare positions, for example, to improve the child-to-staff ratio and extend opening hours, or to strengthen daycare center management. It can also be invested in areas such as catering, physical activity, language development, and child daycare, but at least one measure to recruit and retain qualified staff must be implemented. This could involve expanding training capacities or investing in career changers or further qualifications.
The situation varies among the federal states. According to calculations by experts at TU Dortmund, there could be a shortage of up to 90,000 qualified staff in daycare centers in western states by 2030. In eastern German states, however, there could even be a surplus of staff due to declining child numbers. Federal funds could be used here to retain existing staff and invest in quality improvements, according to the ministry.
Federal Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus (Greens) emphasized the importance of securing around four billion euros for daycare centers over the next two years, despite tight budgets. "This is a strong signal for better daycare quality in Germany. Whether children grow up in Munich, Halle, or Gelsenkirchen, our goal is to achieve equal standards in early childhood education in all daycare centers."
In the future, funds will no longer be used to improve the spatial design of daycare centers. They can only be used to reduce daycare fees until the end of 2025. However, there is no need to fear an increase in daycare fees, it was also said. Only six states – Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia – currently use federal funds to partially finance lower daycare fees. The Federal Ministry of Family Affairs has already pointed out that, for example, the state of Berlin, where daycare is largely free for all, uses its own funds for this purpose.
Continuation of Giffey's "Good Kita Law"
Actually, daycare centers, like schools, are the responsibility of the states. Under the previous Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Franziska Giffey (SPD), the federal government began to financially support the states in this area. Giffey named the corresponding law the "Good Kita Law." The core of the law was that the federal government provided the states with 5.5 billion euros from VAT revenues, which they had to invest in specific improvements to their daycare centers. The law expired at the end of 2022. The traffic light government agreed on continued funding of two billion euros per year for 2023 and 2024 and, after a long night session on the budget in early July, decided to continue the funding for 2025 and 2026.
There are no nationwide daycare center standards.
The draft bill, unlike what was agreed in the coalition contract, does not set nationwide standards for child daycare. This is currently not feasible due to differing initial conditions, as the states have indicated. After the cabinet decision in Berlin, Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Culture Theresa Schopper (Greens) welcomed the fact that the draft bill takes into account the diverse starting points in the states, stating that "too rigid nationwide standards would not help our children or their parents if there simply aren't enough staff locally to implement them."
The federal funds received by the countries can be used to recruit and retain qualified staff in their daycare centers, perhaps by expanding training capacities or investing in career changers or further qualifications. Despite a potential staff shortage in western states, federal funds can also be used to retain existing staff and improve the quality of daycare services in eastern German states with a surplus of staff.
