Berlin is examining whether mothers or fathers will in future be asked to pay maintenance for their children. Central receivables management is to be tested in a pilot project under the leadership of the financial administration, according to a response from the Senate Department for Family Affairs to a parliamentary question from AfD MP Tommy Tabor.

When couples separate and one parent takes on the task of bringing up the child, the other usually has to pay maintenance. If that doesn’t happen, the youth welfare office steps in.

In Berlin, comparatively few parents pay maintenance for their children. In 2021, the youth welfare offices had to step in with around 146.6 million euros.

This was offset by income from repayments by parents responsible for maintenance to the state of 19.7 million – a rate of 13 percent.

According to the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, the so-called recourse rate was 18 percent nationwide. Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria achieved the best result with around 23 percent each. In Hamburg and Bremen, the rate was around ten percent each, even lower than in Berlin.

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According to the Berlin family administration, the quotas should also be considered in connection with the social environment. Especially with parents who have to pay maintenance for several children, but are employed in the low-wage sector and also have high expenses for housing costs, it is possible that an adequate income cannot be achieved.