Geteilte Sorgeverantwortung in der Vormundschaft und die Stärkung des Ehrenamts

For many centuries, parental care was exercised by third parties in the form of guardianship or custody, mostly on a voluntary basis by members of the family or extended family circle. With the emergence of professional guardianship in the later 19th century and the introduction of a general guardianship of the Youth Welfare Office by the Reich Law on Youth Welfare (RJWG) for all illegitimate children, a system solidified in which guardianships and wardships were predominantly carried out by employees of the Youth Welfare Office who, at least until 2011, often did not know their wards and fosterlings personally. Despite this development, the BGB has continued to prioritise individual guardianship by volunteers. Only if no suitable voluntary individual guardian is available can a guardianship association or the youth welfare office be appointed as guardian (§§ 1791a, b BGB a. F.). Even though the youth welfare office is obliged to propose suitable individual guardians and associations to the family court, at least approx. 70 % of all guardianships and conservatorships are conducted by the youth welfare office itself. Associations play only a very small, regionally limited role in this context. The dominance of official guardianship has been sharply criticised time and again. With the "Act on the Reform of Guardianship and Care Law", which will come into force on 01.01.2023, the legislator wants to strengthen voluntary work in this area. Among other things, the additional guardianship will be introduced, in which certain areas of responsibility can be transferred to a professional guardian in addition to a voluntary individual guardian. This is intended to reduce possible hurdles regarding the suitability of voluntary guardians. In addition, the transfer of areas of custody to the caregiver is now possible. In guardianship law, the provision of § 1899 a. F./§ 1817 n. F. BGB, the possibility of appointing several guardians has existed since the introduction of the guardianship law in 1990, if the affairs of the person being guarded can be better taken care of in this way. Even if the so-called care in tandem (BiT) does not play such a large role in practice, the experiences can provide indications of the extent to which the changes in guardianship law can actually lead to a strengthening of voluntary work. It is also interesting to see what constructive cooperation between several responsible persons can look like and which structures in authorities, associations and local courts can be conducive to this. In order to investigate these questions, guided expert interviews were conducted in 2019 as part of a research project in the Master's programme "Education and Social Work" at the University of Siegen with twelve actors who have gained experience with tandem care as judges or legal guardians.