Friday April 30th 2021
Two billion euros
Coalition agrees on children’s support program
It was supposed to be launched on Tuesday, but the coalition still had to vote. Now she agrees: A billion-dollar catch-up program for children and young people should not only compensate for learning deficits, but also the social and psychological consequences of the pandemic.
The grand coalition reached an agreement in the negotiations on a two billion euro corona catch-up program for children and young people. The deputy parliamentary group leader of the CDU / CSU in the Bundestag, Nadine Schön, and her SPD colleague Katja Mast confirmed a corresponding agreement. “Good ideas prevail,” said Mast. Your group has been fighting for the Corona catch-up package for weeks. “It took far too long for the CDU / CSU to get into the pots.”
With the tutoring and social program for children and adolescents, the Union and SPD want to mitigate the long-term corona consequences. The program was originally supposed to be launched on Tuesday in the federal cabinet. Because there was still a need for coordination between the two sides, the decision was postponed. The cabinet is now expected to deal with it next Wednesday.
Half of the two billion euros are intended for tutoring and support programs for schoolchildren in the federal states, for example with the help of retired teachers, but also through commercial providers. The second billion is earmarked for topping up various social programs to cushion the social and psychological consequences of the crisis for children and young people. For example, this is about more money for language tuition at daycare centers in so-called socially disadvantaged areas because children have not been in their facilities for a long time. Greater support for school social work, leisure activities and inexpensive vacation trips is also planned.
The Union has now enforced in the negotiations that the local clubs get more money, said Schön. They also agreed on a one-off payment of 100 euros for children from families with low incomes. The SPD was particularly committed to this. The money should be able to be used for vacation, sports and leisure activities as required.
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