By Julian Loevenich and Sara Orlos Fernandes
Linda Fabritius (27) can be happy. Actually. Their son Leonard was born in May. But the mother’s happiness meets the chaos of the authorities: “I haven’t received any parental allowance since then.”
She is therefore missing between 800 and 900 euros every month. And that in these tough times of inflation. Your partner goes to work, but the money is hardly enough. Now the rent has also been increased to 900 euros.
“I had to borrow money from my sister,” says the trained beautician.
The young mother has already completed an administrative odyssey. After the birth in May, she applied for parental allowance at the youth welfare office in Spandau. Although she has submitted everything, the salary statement is said to be missing. She then presents it again in person at the end of July.
Fabritius is still waiting for feedback. When she asks, she finds out that the responsible employees at the youth welfare office are either ill or on vacation.
On August 4th, the decision finally came: all documents complete. It was not until September 1st that the message was received: the application was being processed. And: The office needs eight to ten weeks for this. At least two more months without money, so half a year in total!
“My husband and I don’t know what to do. We’re both in trouble,” says the mother.
The youth welfare office rejects a BZ request: “Due to the current application density of the parental allowance office, there is no capacity to answer press inquiries.”
Berlin parents wait up to twelve weeks for the money
How quickly Berliners get their parental allowance depends on the district in which they live.
In Steglitz-Zehlendorf there are quick transfers, in Mitte, Neukölln and Treptow-Köpenick parents need a lot of patience.
If the documents for the application are complete, it takes an average of one to twelve weeks before the decision is made in Berlin. This is the result of the currently available figures from the Family Senate for 2021.
► The money is on the account fastest in Steglitz-Zehlendorf (1-2 weeks), Pankow (3) and Tempelhof-Schoeneberg (4).
► In contrast, the offices in Mitte (11 weeks), Neukölln (11) and Treptow-Köpenick (8-12) need much longer.
A total of 46,664 applications for parental allowance were made in Berlin last year. In February 2022 there were still 5629 unprocessed on the desks of the youth welfare offices.