Our Philosophy

Welcome to BEOBE, the complaints and ombuds service office for young people in child and youth welfare services in the State of Brandenburg! We would like to explain to you how we work and what is important to us.

Our Mission and Basic Principles

1. Independence and freedom from instructions: At BEOBE, we are independent and act without influence from public youth welfare organisations (for example, the youth welfare office) or independent youth welfare organisations (for example, residential groups, day groups, assisted living, family care or similar). This means that we can act neutrally and freely.
2. Partisan support: We are committed to defending your personal rights and those of your families in the area of child and youth welfare. Our aim is to ensure that these rights are respected.
3. Confidentiality: All information, conversations and consultations at BEOBE are always treated confidentially. Your privacy and data protection are very important to us.

Our Understanding of Ombuds Service

Ombuds service in child and youth welfare means that we are independent mediators. Our aim is to resolve conflicts between you and public or independent youth welfare organisations. Advocate for your rights, offer advice on these matters and help you with resolving conflicts. In doing so, we want to enable you to represent your concerns independently.

Our Way of Working

We want to talk to you and support you in making your own decisions. We take every concern seriously without overly dramatizing or downplaying it. Our aim is to work with you to find solutions to problems and support you in asserting your rights.

We offer advise at a location of your choice and accompany you to meetings if you so wish. In conflict situations, we stand by your side with guidance and support.

The Legal Basis of Our Work

Our work is guided by legal standards and principles that establish the need for and the right to ombuds service support in child and youth welfare. These include human rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, Book 8 of the German Social Code (SGB VIII) and corresponding federal state regulations.

Section 9a of SGB VIII, which was newly created in 2021, is particularly relevant to our work

“The federal states shall ensure that young people and their families can turn to an ombudsman's office for counselling, mediation and clarification of conflicts in connection with child and youth welfare duties pursuant to Section 2 and their performance by public and independent youth welfare

services. […]” (This is an unofficial translation of the German legal text for informational purposes. For legal accuracy, please refer to the original German version.)

Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is also of great relevance. It emphasises the importance of young people's participation in decisions that affect their lives:

“States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.” (This is an unofficial translation of the German legal text for informational purposes. For legal accuracy, please refer to the original German version.)

Evaluation

We continuously evaluate our work, with your feedback being a key part of the process. Your input is essential for improving our services and ensuring we meet your expectations. We also share the results of our evaluations (anonymised) with professionals to contribute to the further development of youth services and to protect the rights of young people.

Sector-specific Lobbying

An important part of our work is sector-specific political lobbying. This means that we represent the interests of children and young people - especially in the area of the German system of Assistance for Education (HzE), which provides support for families in raising children. We actively advocate at regional, state, and national levels to strengthen the rights of young people and their families in the child and youth welfare system.

Involvement of Regional (Voluntary) Professionals

To increase accessibility in the entire Brandenburg region, we are working on establishing a network regional offices and professionals. The regional offices will be found in (almost) all districts of Brandenburg. The regional professionals will work on a voluntary basis. In addition to increased accessibility, this also reinforces the independence of the ombuds service office.