Daniel Grein, the Federal Executive Director of the Child Protection League, has condemned the plans proposed by Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) to reduce the state maintenance subsidy for young people starting their sixteenth birthday, calling the proposal a scandal. Grein told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland that removing the maintenance allowance deepens the inequality of opportunity, signaling to all children and youth that they matter the least when times get difficult.
He stressed that children raised by single parents are already the most vulnerable to poverty. To withdraw state support during this crucial period-when they might be deciding on advanced education or moving to start training-is unacceptable. Grein doubted that single parents could successfully compel non-paying ex-partners to fulfill their financial obligations if the state itself fails to ensure it. He expressed openness to using license suspension against maintenance defaulters as a necessary pressure tactic. According to Grein, this would bypass the need for a lengthy debate about abolishing the maintenance allowance, allowing the state to directly recover the missing funds.
Meanwhile, Verena Bentele, President of the Youth Welfare Association (VdK), pointed out that young people incur higher costs as they get older. She warned that cutting the budget for 16- and 17-year-olds would, therefore, exacerbate their risk of poverty. Bentele agreed in principle that holding maintenance payers consistently accountable is correct, but cautioned that the strategy of temporarily revoking driving licenses to achieve this goal requires careful scrutiny.
