Overview
- The state has scrapped the planned €3,000 one-off payment and the Krippengeld and will redirect the funds to daycare providers instead.
- The Social Ministry projects about €3 billion will be moved into Kita upkeep from 2026 to 2030, with detailed distribution rules now being drafted.
- Online petitions calling for a reversal have surpassed 200,000 signatures, and parents describe acute financial strain without the expected subsidy.
- The government advanced the change in the Landtag via an amendment to the original bill, opted against a transition period, and Markus Söder publicly defended the decision.
- Municipal leaders welcome additional Kita funding, while Greens, the SPD and the AWO criticize the switch as harmful to family planning, alongside broader budget moves that cut about 1,000 posts and create roughly 2,700, including 1,500 teaching jobs.