In Berlin there are two main kinds of child care: Kita or nursery (Kindertagesstätte) or day care (Kindertagespflege: Tagesmutter or Tagesvater). Kita or Nursery (Kindertagesstätte) There are many Kitas in Berlin with different chains (Träger). Some of them are bilingual (English & Spanish are the most common). The majority of them are public and heavily subsidised from the state of Berlin (you only need to pay a small fee for lunch). You would need to pay probably much more for private Kitas as some don't cooperate with the state. The development of your child is documented in the language learning diary (Sprachlerntagesbuch). Day Care (Kindertagespflege: Tagesmutter or Tagesvater) Day care offers a legally recognised form of care all or part of the day, primarily for children under three years old. Your child should be cared for by qualified mothers or fathers in a family-like environment. One childminder looks after up to five children, usually in a small group of mixed-age children. Your child is either cared for in the childminder's apartment, in rented rooms or, in individual cases, at your home. As in the Kita, your child will be individually supported according to the Berlin Education Program. Day care can also be applied for as a supplement to a Kita spot or as a supplement to school care. Depending on the individual requirements, the daily time frame of care is:
From the age of one, every child in Berlin has a legal entitlement for a part time day care (up to 7 hours) regardless of whether or not the child could be looked after at home. Irregular working hours If you need longer care for your child due to your work situation, and the Kita, day care centre or school does not cover the entire care period, you can apply to your Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt) for supplementary day care. The office will then check whether the additional hours of care are compatible with the welfare of the child. Your child can then be looked after in the evening and at night, at weekends or on public holidays, for example. How much does it cost? Since August 1, 2018, child care have been free of charge for all children in Berlin. You still have to pay a monthly fee of 23€ for lunch though! Please note: this fee is to be paid even if you took your child on vacation! For extra services such as additional sport activities, organic food or language lessons, daycare centres may charge limited extra payments under conditions from the state of Berlin, to protect you as a parent from unreasonable financial burden. You can find more details here. How to apply? If you want your child to go to a Kita or day care centre you will need a Kita-Gutschein (Kita-voucher). You can redeem the voucher at any facility of your choice if there is a spot available. The Kita-Gutschein is used to determine your child's need for care. How many hours a day your child can be cared for in the Kita depends, among other things, on its age: From your child's first birthday onwards, the voucher is valid for at least one part-time childcare session (5 to 7 hours a day) without the need to be assessed. For extended care needs or for children under 1 year of age. You have to provide a proof that you cannot look after the child yourself, for example:
You will also need the following documents, you can find the detailed list here:
The Kita-Gutschein can be applied, nine months at the earliest or at two months at the latest, before the desired start of care at the Jugendamt in your district of residence (Bezirk). You can find more details here. When to apply? Before or after finding a Kita/Day care spot? If you prefer to go to work as soon as possible, then you should apply for Kita-Gutshein when the Baby is 3 months old at the latest. Some Kitas demand Kita-Gutschein to be present to accept your registration but some don't. If the Kita-Gutschein expires before finding a spot, you could apply for an extension or simply a new one (It's free of charge). TIP: If you already have a confirmation from a Kita or day care center, don't forget to attach it to your application so you can get the voucher much faster ;-) TIP: If your work situations change, you can adjust your Kita-Gutschien by making it valid for all day instead of part time for example. Please note : if one of the parents becomes unemployed, that might cause a reduction in the number of hours (i.e, it becomes valid only for part time 5-7 hours). How to hunt for a spot? Berlin has recently rolled out a digital way of registering your child in Kitas (Kita-Navigator). It's still not working perfectly but you can use it to easily:
Some Kitas now require that all registrations go through the Kita-Navigator while some others still accept the same old way of paper application or email (at least until the Kita-Navigator works properly). We recommend to check the website of the Kita for special registration procedure. If there is no info, just send an inquiry email with the child info (Name, birth date, address, contact) and call if you receive no response within a week. TIP: Try to make it more personal to stand out of the crowd. Please note: if your child reached 3 years old and you still can't find a Kita spot, contact immediately the Jugendamt in your district and they should help you find a place as you have a high priority now. Attention: If you already have a child in a Kita who got another sibiling, then the sibling would in theory have a higher chance to get a place but not guaranteed though! So plan accordingly! TIP for commuters: Berlin and Brandenburg have agreed to facilitate the use of care services in the respective other state, for example, if workplace-based care is useful or necessary. Plan for the Eingewöhnung time: Your kid would need sometime to adjust to the Kita. It typically takes 4 weeks or more for your child to settle in. In the beginning, one parent takes the child for about an hour a day which slowly increases until the child is feeling comfortable without the parents. During this time you can still receive paid parental leave (Elterngeld) if you wish. TIP: not speaking German at home might actually be an advantage for some as Kitas get more money from the state in this case. So, don't forget to mention it on your application. Check out the video below for more tips! Issues There is a widespread shortage of child care in Berlin. However, if you start looking early (i.e., as soon as your baby is born), you would likely find a spot by the time the child is 1 year old. Keep in mind that only a few Kitas accept applications for unborn children. If both parents need to go to work and already spent a reasonable effort looking and still can't find child care spot, then the parents can actually sue the district (Bezirk) where they live for loss of income. Tagesspiegel reported in early 2020: "according to the Berlin Administrative Court, the number of lawsuits for the lack of a childcare spot in 2019 has also increased significantly compared to the previous year. The court received 241 complaints in 2019, compared to 178 the year before. Most of the cases in which compensation was paid were in Treptow-Köpenick. The district has so far paid 27.355€. Three further lawsuits are currently pending there with a total claim for damages of 21.609€. In Pankow, a total of 18.343€ has so far been paid in three cases, in Neukölln 6.000€ for two cases." You can read the complete article here. Useful Links CategoriesAll Family Finance SELF DEVELOPMENT SHOPPING Archives October 2020 Related ARticlesComments are closed.
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