Developing Evidence-Based Child Protection Practice: A View From Germany

The child welfare system in Germany has been described as family service-oriented because families in need are entitled to request family support services. If there is any form of child maltreatment, there may be some kind of mandatory state intervention to protect the child. Using trends in the number of children affected by maltreatment, the rate of maltreated children noted by the child protection system, and safety, permanency, and well-being of children after a maltreatment report as outcome indicators, there are hardly any data on the effectiveness of the German child protection system. Moreover, there are no studies examining the validity of risk assessment procedures or the effects of different interventions in child protection cases. However the situation is changing, with international research becoming more accessible, and with the publication of more relevant studies.