Germany: Jugendamt took the daughter of a Ukrainian refugee

The German State Child Protection Service took the child from a refugee from Ukraine, arguing that the girl was in danger, and placed her in a special children’s center.

Jugendamt officials learned from a social worker that 52-year-old Irina (not her real name) was going to return to Ukraine and, according to Deutsche Welle, was separated from her mother. According to German law, this civil service is obliged to protect the well-being of children and adolescents, and to act immediately “if a child may be in danger.”

How tells publication, the Ukrainian woman herself turned to the Jugendamt and stated that it was difficult for her to cope with her daughter, since the girl was hyperactive. The service appointed social workers in support several times, but the woman said that this was not the help she was counting on. She also complained several times to the Jugendamt about the extension and the school that her daughter attended.

The girl was suspended from school three times due to bad behavior. For the same reason, she was previously expelled from kindergarten. In the end, the child was placed in a school for children with special needs.

The fact that Irina plans to return to Ukraine with her daughter was reported to the Jugendamt by a social worker. According to the woman, she was misunderstood. However, in the public service, nevertheless, they decided to temporarily separate the mother from the daughter. But, in accordance with the law, removal from the family is a last resort, which must be backed up by a court decision.

Irina contacted a DW journalist via social networks to report that the Jugendamt “took her daughter from her.” With a request for help, she also turned to various authorities – Ukrainian, German and European.

The Ministry for Refugees, Family, Children and Youth of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the Ukrainian refugee and her daughter live, said: “Guardianship is a temporary measure to protect the child.” In the end, the court ruled: to return the child to the mother.

The case of Irina is not the only one when this service took away children from Ukrainian refugees. This was confirmed by the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany. The embassy’s response to DW’s request states that “statistics of such cases are being kept and are constantly evolving.” According to the data announced to the Ukrainian media by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmitry Lubinets, as of June 2023, 240 children were taken from Ukrainian refugees in Europe. Lubinets did not provide specific data on Germany.

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