The number of cases concerning a danger to a child’s well-being has reached a new, consecutive high for the fourth time.
Statistics released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Thursday indicated that in 2025, youth welfare offices in Germany identified danger to a child’s well-being in approximately 79,800 children or young people. These cases stemmed from neglect, psychological, physical, or sexual violence, representing a 10% increase-around 7,000 more incidents than in 2024. Overall, the number of cases has more than doubled since the start of counting in 2012; at that time, the count stood at roughly 38,300 cases (+41,500 cases, or +108%).
Since 2012, documented dangers to a child’s well-being have steadily risen, with only slight declines in 2017 (-0.1%) and 2021 (-1.0%). Experts suggest that this strong growth is attributable not only to a genuine increase in dangerous situations but also to greater alertness and willingness to report, along with improvements in the qualification and collaboration of professionals and new legislation.
In 2025, most of the affected children and adolescents (40%) were growing up with both parents or one single parent (37%). An additional 14% lived with a parent in a new partnership, while 9% lived in a home, with relatives, or elsewhere. Approximately half of the affected children (51%) were eight years old or under, and about one in four (26%) was four years old or under. The average age of the children was 8.5 years. In 43% of all cases, the children or adolescents had already received services from child protection agencies when the danger was assessed, meaning they were already engaged with the support system. Furthermore, in about one in four cases (27%), a formal report on the child was received within the year.
When authorities investigated dangers to a child’s well-being, the most frequently observed signs were neglect (58%) and psychological mistreatment (38%). Indications of physical mistreatment were found in 29% of cases, and sexual violence in five percent. Alarmingly, 25% of the affected children showed signs of multiple dangers, such as neglect, psychological, physical, or sexual violence-a rate that was only 16% in 2015.
Compared to the previous year, all four types of danger to a child’s well-being increased. The greatest increases were recorded in neglect (+3,950 mentions) and psychological mistreatment (+3,250 mentions). In 74% of cases, the danger originated from the mother or father. In four cases, it came from a stepparent or a new partner; in five cases, it came from another person. Nine percent of cases involved multiple people without a clearly identifiable primary source, and in seven percent, the source of the danger was unknown or unclear.
To resolve the dangerous situation, a help or protective measure was agreed upon in 91% of the cases. In 18% of the identified dangers, youth welfare offices involved the family court. This intervention typically occurs when parents are unwilling or unable to mitigate the risk themselves or with the offered assistance, for instance, due to lack of cooperation.
Prior to the assessments, youth welfare offices reviewed nearly 268,300 suspected cases in 2025. This means the total number of danger assessments increased by 12%, surpassing the growth rate of the actual cases of danger to a child’s well-being and also reaching a new peak.
The primary sources for indications of potential danger to a child’s well-being in 2025 were the police and the judiciary (30%), followed by the general public-including relatives, acquaintances, neighbors, or anonymous informants (22%). Following these were schools and childcare facilities (16%), and the child and youth care services (12%). In only a small fraction of cases, the reports came directly from the families themselves, either from the affected minors (2%) or their parents (7%).
