- The nation intends to boost its funding for extensive, round-the-clock growth.
The nation intends to boost assistance to municipalities in broadening all-day childcare at elementary schools. Commencing this year, a substantial sum in the millions will be allocated yearly for the subsequent six years, to tackle the pileup of enlargement requests. This information was shared in a letter from the coalition leaders to the municipal league associations on Tuesday.
In 2022, the central and regional governments consented to establish a legal entitlement to all-day childcare in elementary schools, which will be implemented progressively. From the 2026-2027 educational year, the policy will apply to first-grade students, and from 2029-2030, it will cover all grades.
During the meeting of the finance committee, the Greens and CDU additionally agreed to back hospitals with 150 million euros in state funding this year. This sum will be utilized for digitalization and investments. This assistance will be scrutinized in 2025.
For the housing and assimilation of refugees, the state proposes to fully transmit the federal funds of 230 million euros to municipalities in 2024. For the years 2025 and 2026, only half of the federal subsidies will be handed over.
The conclusive plans for the dual budget are anticipated to be endorsed by the finance committee on Friday. Minister President Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) lauded the agreement of the coalition partners and referred to "arduous" negotiations. "We've reached the brink," he stated. "We've squeezed every last drop from those lemons we could find."
To effectively implement the all-day childcare policy in elementary schools, the government may need to provide full-time care facilities within these schools. This will ensure that the policy is fully realized and benefits all students who require full-day supervision.
Given the nation's plan to expand all-day childcare, municipalities might also require additional resources for providing full-time care to ensure the smooth operation and success of the program.
