Bad news for care homes

Starting next August, the German civil service could be reduced to a six month duration. This decision by the Federal government has made Germany’s civil society quite angry.

For ten years, the German civil service played a pivotal role in the social state and in the German non profit sector.

From the early 90s up until the new millennium, an average of 130,000 young Germans a year volunteered their services. They volunteered for care provision homes, hospitals and programs helping the disabled.

And today? On April 1, 2010, of the 111,000 available volunteer positions in Germany only 38,000 were filled. Soon, civil service will be further weakened when the duration of the program is reduced to six months.

After several weeks of struggle, the yellow-black coalition (liberals from the FDP and the Christian Democrats of CDU-CDU) has reached an agreement.

Alarm amongst Germany’s non profit sector

The Minister of Family, Kristina Schroeder (CDU) warmly welcomed the agreement.

“After much discussion the civil service was saved,” declared the Christian Democratic representative.

The reform which will be disused by the government has two big advantages, according to Schroeder.

“Young Germans will be able to choose if they want to prolong their civil service period. And the Federal Office of the Civil Service will finally have the necessary scheduling.”

Schroeder expects that about a third of all participants will extend their civil service period, because it will allow many to fill the gap between their regular services and the beginning of their studies.

But not everyone is convinced.

Many heads of non profit organizations in Germany hold that the legislative norm could be the end of Germany’s civil service. Rainer Hub of the Diakonie Federation calls it “a mortal blow.”

Why? Six months is simply too short a period to train a volunteer and so the benefits of bringing on new short-term volunteers is unsubstantial.

A new volunteer program likely to replace the work of the civil service

Many social entities are based around the work of volunteers. One foreseeable solution to the reduction in the duration of civil service programs is to employ German volunteers instead.

The number of young citizens who offer a year of their time to the social charity work program Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr (FSJ) is on the rise. In 2009 there were already 37,000 volunteers working for this organization, but according to a study by the Minister of Family the number could quickly triple.

The advantage is that in the case of the FSJ program volunteers generally stay for a period of twelve months and at times they extend their stay to 18 or 24 months.

Amongst the disadvantages is its cost.

Even if the program is sanctioned under the “law for the promotion of youth services and volunteering” (Section I n. 19, published in Bonn May 26, 2008, titled Jugenfreiwilligendienstegesetz – JFDG) and defined as “volunteer work,” those who adhere to the program are “paid.”

Generally, participants are paid between €120 and €240 and up to as much as €350 a month. Over and above, the employers must provide housing, food and social insurance.

Sabine Riediger, director of a care house called Hamburger Stadtdomizil, is against the proposition to reduce the duration of the civil service.

With the time that it takes to train and to form the volunteers there isn’t enough time left for them to do any real work for the home.

Also, the changeover in staff would be too frequent for the elderly that live there.

Civil service in Germany

Civil service in Germany is directly linked to the military service It was introduced in 1961 for draftees who refused to serve.

In its initial stage the program lasted 15 months. Then in the 80s it was stretched to 20 months.

Overtime, military service and civil service conformed to the same time commitment of nine months.

The first 340 moral objectors entered into the civil service April 10, 1961. A record 130,000 people joined the civil service in 1997 and again in 2003.

In 2009 the numbers dropped down to 65,000. Around two-thirds of those in the civil service work in the social sector, mostly as ambulance assistants who work with the elderly, the sick or the disabled.