BERLIN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The number of families in which children are threatened by poverty is growing in Germany, the "Family Report 2017" released by the German Minister for Family Affairs Katarina Barley on Friday showed.
Around 2.8 million children were at risk of poverty in 2015, the most recent year for which measurements were available. The figure marked an increase of 1.5 percent compared to 2010 and indicated that nearly every fifth child in Germany (19.7 percent) was affected.
The development was at least partially attributable to the high volume of immigration between 2010 and 2015. The report put the poverty risk within that sub-demographic part at 49 percent, up from 36 percent in 2011. In contrast, only 13 percent of children without a migratory background were at risk of poverty.
The official document stressed the important role that the availability of full-time child care and early education played in improving the life chances of migrant children.
Barley further noted that the risk of poverty was closely correlated with certain family structures. 44 percent of the children of single parents were at risk of poverty, giving them a likelihood of suffering from material deprivation that was four times higher than the average measured for children raised by couples.
Speaking to Xinhua, Severn Schmidt, expert for social policy at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) think-tank, emphasized that children of single parents were particularly vulnerable to poverty. He consequently called on the government to provide "better childcare options", including the possibility to work more flexible hours to ameliorate the situation.
Another demographic part with a greater risk of poverty was identified in the government report in families which persisted on the single income of the father. Families were both parents worked between 28 and 36 hours had monthly net earnings of 4,154 euros on average, compared to 3,393 euros for such single income households.
The employment of both parents therefore offered an effective protection against poverty, the report argued.
"Every euro that we invest in good nurseries, and full-time schooling facilities" would reap high returns, according to Barley.
In general, "good, reliable and free childcare was the best means of reducing existing inequalities" she added. The government hereby faced the task of reaching more children with its services in order to improve their life chances.
The minster advocated for a legal right to full-time care for children in primary school age and also called for men to be supported more in their roles as fathers alongside single parents and working mothers.
On a more upbeat note, the report stressed that fathers had become "drivers of change" in the working world. A specially-designed "father barometer" included in the paper showed that 80 percent of men working in companies which made it difficult to combine a career with a family were considering switching jobs.
Additionally, the share of young fathers who said they wanted to reduce the hours they worked by 20 percent doubled to 46 percent.
The "Family Report" is an annual government publication which compiles statistical data on the socio-economic situation of families and the implications thereof for their children.
