Vienna reports success with juvenile facility and rising kindergarten costs

Vienna City Councilor Bettina Emmerling has reported early successes with the city’s new ‘Auszeit-WG’ facility, a specialized residence in Simmering designed to hold criminalized children under the age of 14. This is the first facility of its kind in Austria. Emmerling noted that the first child detained at the facility has already been released and is participating in voluntary programs. However, she acknowledged legal complexities, noting that the current use of the Home Stay Act is not an ideal long-term basis for restricting the freedom of juvenile offenders and has called for a federal law to provide a proper legal framework.

In related municipal news, the costs for kindergarten places in Vienna have risen. In the previous year, a place in a municipal facility cost an average of 15,991 euros, up from approximately 13,767 euros in 2023. This increase is attributed to higher personnel, material, and overhead costs. Private providers received an average subsidy of 10,115.20 euros per child. Emmerling announced plans to restructure the subsidy system to foster more partnership-based approaches.