Because the city urgently needs to save money, Ludwigsburg is handing over social work for refugees in municipal accommodation to the district. The city’s integration council is confused by the decision. The committee warns of the consequences of the controversial decision and believes it is a naive calculation.
It was a decision that the Ludwigsburg local council probably did not like to make, but with a clear majority: the city of Ludwigsburg agreed to an offer from the district to take over social work for refugees in city accommodation again. This decision caused a lack of understanding among the city’s integration council, among others.
In a statement, its members not only expressly express their concern about the consequences of the decision, they also criticize how it was made: “The Integration Council was not involved in the decision-making process in its advisory role, neither by the city administration nor by the local council committees .” Preliminary discussions took place in a closed meeting with the indication that these were personnel matters.
Former city employee Andreas Reichert, who volunteers at the railway station mission and has a lot to do with refugees, was also unwilling to accept this. He filed a complaint with the regional council. However, to no avail. The city of Ludwigsburg’s approach to the preliminary consultation, invitation and meeting on the agenda item of re-delegation of refugee social work to the district of Ludwigsburg was not legally objectionable, it was said.
In any case, it is doubtful whether a different approach would have changed the decision. The city has to save at least 15 million euros if it doesn’t want to run the risk of its next budget not being approved. And by returning responsibility for refugees to the Ludwigsburg district, around one million euros can be saved – among other things because the costs for the 26.5 positions will be eliminated.
You have to know that the respective district is usually responsible for so-called integration management. In order to ensure better care for refugees, the city voluntarily took on this task in 2017. The state provided funding of 320,000 euros annually for this, which, however, had not been increased over the years despite the increase in the number of cases – another argument from the city administration. Due to the current transfer of the task back to the district, fewer social workers will be looking after the refugees in the future.
In a personal conversation, Stefan Jeuk from the Integration Council admits that he understands the administration’s need to make savings and does not want to make the difficult decisions of the local council. But it is the task of the Integration Council to point out foreseeable difficulties.
And we know that at a facility on Fröbelstrasse, for example, a lot has gone better since the city and no longer the district office took care of the residents: “That was a different level of commitment and reliability.” However, Jeuk says that too The city already reduced the childcare key a year ago for cost reasons, so compromises would have to be made here.
However, the Integration Council sees the danger that the long-term consequences of reduced care would ultimately cost society as a whole more. Jeuk also complains that the city’s employees have built up very good structures in recent years that can now no longer be continued.
After all, finding a new job should not be a problem for social workers given the shortage of skilled workers.
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The original for this article “Controversial austerity measures for refugees causes discontent in Ludwigsburg” comes from STUTTGARTER ZEITUNG.