by Jennifer M
Originally published in Currents, Summer 2003

You may have heard about the new KiTa-Gutschein system and are wondering what it is. Well, KiTa is the abbreviation for Kindertagesstätte, a children’s daycare facility, and a Gutschein is a type of gift certificate. When you put these words together, however, you certainly do not end up with a gift certificate for a daycare facility. Instead, you end up with one big headache trying to figure everything out.

This new system for government subsidizing of daycare attendance is one of many legislative reforms passed by the new Hamburg state government. It has met with considerable resistance and criticism from the public. While the Hamburg Behörde für Bildung und Sport (Department of Education and Sport) claims that the new system will grant recipients more freedom in choosing a daycare facility and offer more financial assistance to those needing it, opponents claim that the only purpose of the new legislation is to remove women from the workforce. Women would have to return to the home due to the fact that many children will no longer be eligible for the daycare subsidy, thus requiring more women to postpone their return to the workforce after giving birth.

The new law states that all children (even non-German children) aged three and above have the right to a government-subsidized daycare spot. Unlike under the previous law, parents have to locate a facility themselves. Once you have located a facility, you can apply for the Gutschein at least six to eight weeks before your contract at a daycare facility begins. All children three and up will receive a Gutschein for four hours of subsidized care a day. Those needing or wanting longer care (for six or eight hours a day) will have to have a good reason, such as employment, furthering your education or learning German. Or you and/or your child must be living in a social situation which puts your child at risk (such as single parent, low-income, homeless, drug problems, learning disabilities, etc.) Whatever the reason, you must present proof of your situation to the authorities when submitting your application.

The Jugendamt (Department of Juvenile Services) will decide how much subsidy you will receive based on your submitted financial information form and hardship evaluation form. Or, if you are pretty certain that your income is so high that you would fall into the lowest subsidy category, you can opt to accept that position without divulging any of your financial information. These forms may be obtained from your daycare facility or directly from the Jugendamt in your district.

How do you find a daycare facility for your child? You can start by looking on the internet under http://www.kitainfo-hamburg.de. This is an interactive website where you can choose neighborhoods and facility amenities that you want, and the computer will show you the results. You can also call your district’s Jugendamt to receive information regarding the Gutschein application and lists of daycare facilities in your district. Be prepared to call several times before ever reaching a live person. And once you reach someone, do not be surprised if they are rude, curt, insulting and unhelpful. This new system has created an overload of work, and the already-strained working situation has only been exasperated by the new procedure, not to mention that offices are under-staffed, under-trained and under-financed.

Another source of information is http://www.hamburg.de under HamburgService (Onlinedienste). Then choose DiBIS and search (Suchen) for Kindertagesbetreuung. Under the heading Kindertagesbetreuung Vorabinfo you will find a multitude of documents, including applications and press releases regarding the KiTa-Gutschein System.

Good luck!