Crime scene: Never without me: why is the maintenance advance so important?

An employee of the youth welfare office is found killed. Monika Fellner (Melanie Straub), who trod on the feet of maintenance-deficient parents, made many enemies with her zeal … In the context of the murder investigation by Cologne commissioner Max Ballauf (Klaus J. Behrendt) and Freddy Schenk (Dietmar Bär), "Crime scene: never without me" (22.3., 8:15 p.m., the first) among other things about the so-called maintenance advance. But what is it actually?

In Germany, single parents can apply for maintenance advances from the youth welfare office if the ex-partner does not pay for the children. When the authorities make the payments, they virtually step in. At a later time, they will get the money back from the offending parent. At least that's the plan. Because according to the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, this often does not work. In around 61 percent of the cases, the state remains at the expense. The reason given is that the ex-partner's income is too low.