Frühe Förderung und Frühe Hilfen in Deutschland

Background: Programs that promote the early promotion and education of children with and without disabilities are internationally known as early intervention services. The early intervention services (interdisziplinäre Frühförderung, IFF) were established in Germany 50 years ago but are limited to children with physical, intellectual, sensory or mental impairments that could lead to restrictions in participation. The early preventive services (Frühe Hilfen, FH) set up 20 years ago are aimed at families with increased psychosocial support needs and to avert an impairment in socioemotional development. Objective: To work out and describe the differences and similarities between the IFF and the FH in order to create transparency for the families and caring physicians. Material and methods: Research on the genesis, objectives, sociolegal foundations and practice of the IFF and the FH. Results: Neither the IFF nor the FH can be described in a common unified system for Germany with its federal structures. The opportunities for access do not (yet) fulfil the requirements of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which both provide orientation for the design and development of the two systems. Conclusion: Conceptually, there is a great deal of overlap between the IFF and the FH in that they are individually tailored, family-oriented and knowledge-based. The consideration of the life span approach and the sociospatial orientation offers a variety of points of contact and enables the organization of cooperative networks in the community without overburdening the families through the wide variety of possibilities and contact persons.