Benefits for education and participation for children, adolescents and young adults Approval for ongoing receipt of child supplement benefits

Do you receive child supplement? Are you already familiar with the education and participation package? You can receive benefits for school trips, excursions, school supplies, school transport, learning support, lunchtime meals and participation in social and cultural life.

You can receive financial support through benefits under the education and participation package. This helps you to take part in school, daycare, childcare and leisure activities as well as meals and transportation. The support is aimed at children, young people and young adults.

You can receive support if you are entitled to

• child supplement (BKGG) or
• you cannot cover the necessary requirements from your own income and assets or

that of your family.

Funding is possible under certain conditions for the following areas:

• Excursions as well as one-day and multi-day trips from schools and daycare centers

Assumption of the actual costs for participation in excursions and trips lasting one or more days by schools, day care centers or child day care facilities. School trips must take place within the framework of school regulations. The costs are covered in the form of personalized vouchers, direct payments to the service provider or cash benefits.

• Personal school supplies

Funding for personal school supplies, such as writing, arithmetic and drawing materials, sportswear and school bags. The amount of funding differs between the first half of the school year and the second half of the school year and is adjusted annually.

• School transportation

If you are dependent on school transport, you can be reimbursed for the actual costs of attending the nearest school of your chosen course of education. The prerequisite for this is that the transportation or the costs are not covered by a third party, such as the school authority. The distance between the place of residence or the school or institution is regulated at state or municipal level and is therefore not eligible for funding, as it does not have to be covered by public transport. Depending on the type of school, there may be differences in the relevant distance (e.g. differences between primary school pupils and secondary school pupils).

• Learning support

Learning support to supplement school lessons in order to achieve the learning objectives. The prerequisite is that there are no comparable school offers or other forms of support, e.g. from the youth welfare office. The costs are covered by personalized vouchers, direct payments to the service provider or cash benefits.

• Lunchtime meals in daycare centers and schools

If lunchtime meals are provided by the daycare center or school and are eaten communally, the costs can be covered by personalized vouchers, direct payments to the service provider or cash benefits. Lunchtime meals within the school must be the responsibility of the school.

• Participation in social and cultural life

A monthly grant for participation in social and cultural life in the community. You can receive a grant of currently EUR 15 per month for actual expenses if you have not yet reached the age of 18. The monthly grant can be provided for activities in the areas of sport, games, culture and socializing (e.g. membership fees), lessons in artistic subjects (e.g. music lessons), guided cultural activities (e.g. educational museum offers) and participation in extracurricular leisure activities (e.g. a vacation camp during the school vacations or baby swimming). The extracurricular leisure activities must be organized and supervised by a provider. It is possible to save up the grant within the approval period. The amount saved can be used, for example, for a vacation camp or for equipment. Please contact your local authority for advice. The costs are covered by personalized vouchers, direct payments to the service provider or cash benefits.

As a rule, responsibility for applying for benefits from the education and participation package lies with the job centers or the offices (e.g. social welfare office) of the independent cities or districts.

• Completed application or notification of need (as PDF or in writing)

An application or notification of need for education and participation can be submitted if certain conditions are met. The exact conditions may vary depending on the federal state and local authority, as education and participation benefits in Germany are administered by the federal states and local authorities.

In general, the following conditions may apply:

1. Recipients of certain social benefits: As a rule, low-income families are entitled to education and participation benefits. These include, for example, recipients of citizen's allowance, social assistance, benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, housing benefit or child supplement.
2. Children, adolescents and young adults under the age of 25 are eligible, and children and adolescents under the age of 18 are eligible for participation benefits
3. Necessary requirements: An application can be made if there are certain needs, such as for school trips, school supplies, lunchtime meals, learning support, school transport costs or participation in cultural, sports or leisure activities.

It is important to note that the exact conditions and benefits may vary from state to state. It is therefore advisable to find out about the specific requirements from the responsible office or case worker.

• Notification of receipt of child supplement, proof of income or assets (as PDF or in written form)
• Depending on the area of support: invoices, receipts and other evidence (as PDF or in writing)
• For pupils: school certificate (as PDF or in written form)
• In the case of a representative: Power of attorney if the application is submitted as a representative (as a PDF or in writing)

Forms available: Yes

Written form required: No

Informal application possible: Yes

Personal appearance necessary: No

Basic requirements:

• Children, adolescents and young adults who are in receipt of housing benefit or supplementary child allowance may be entitled to educational benefits under the education and participation package.
• To do so, they must attend a general or vocational school, a day care facility or a day care center.
• In addition, the children, teenagers and young adults must be under the age of 25.
• Children, teenagers and young adults who are in receipt of housing benefit or supplementary child allowance and are under the age of 18 are entitled to benefits for participation in social and cultural life in the community under the education and participation package.
• Adolescents and young adults who are in receipt of housing benefit or supplementary child allowance and who do not receive sufficient training allowance as part of their vocational training are entitled to education and participation benefits under the education and participation package.

Excursions and one-day and multi-day trips from schools and daycare centers:

• School trips lasting several days must be within the scope of school regulations.

Personal school supplies:

• A school certificate is required for children under the age of 7 or over the age of 15.

School transportation:

• Actual expenses are not covered by third parties (e.g. by the school authority). If only part of the travel costs are covered by third parties, the personal share can be reimbursed.
• The distance between the place of residence and the school/institution is greater than the minimum distance regulated at municipal or state level.
• If state law requirements (nearest school of the chosen course of education) do not play a role in the minimum distance in some cases (regulated, for example, in Section 28 (4) sentence 2 SGB II), a school with a special profile (e.g. a school with a sports or language profile or a Waldorf school) can also be regarded as the "nearest school of the chosen course of education".

Learning support:

• You need an assessment from the school as to whether additional learning support is necessary and suitable to achieve the essential learning objectives set out in accordance with school legislation. If school offers are available, these must be given priority. It does not matter whether promotion is at risk.
• Learning support is offered by a suitable provider or a suitable private person.

Lunchtime meals:

• Attendance at a school, a daycare center or an after-school care facility.
• Lunch is provided under the responsibility of the school or is agreed in a cooperation agreement between the school and the day care facility.
• The food is served and eaten communally.

§ Section 6b of the Federal Child Benefit Act (BKGG)

§§ Sections 28 ff of the Second Book of the Social Code - Basic Security for Jobseekers (SGB II)

Appeal, action for annulment

Further information on how to lodge an appeal can be found in the notification of your application.

• You submit an application for benefits for education and participation to your local authority (e.g. job center, social welfare office) or via the online portal.
• You submit the necessary evidence for benefits for education and participation to your local authority (e.g. job center, social welfare office) or via the online portal.
• The responsible office will check your needs and calculate your requirements.
• The competent authority decides on your needs and informs you of the result.
• If your needs are approved, you will receive a notice of approval; if they are rejected, you will receive a notice of rejection.
• In both cases, the notification will contain the reasons for the decision. It also contains information about the possibility of lodging an appeal against the decision. It will also state the deadline within which you can lodge an appeal.
• If your needs have been approved, the costs will be covered in the form of personalized vouchers, direct payments to the provider or cash benefits, depending on the individual case.

Fee free of charge