Overview

• Childcare centers in major eastern cities such as Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz are facing closures due to underuse from declining birth rates.
• Federal Family Minister Karin Prien has proposed retraining Kita personnel in eastern states for redeployment to areas of higher demand to prevent system collapse.
• The FDP in North Rhine-Westphalia is calling for a targeted recruitment campaign with relocation aid to draw qualified staff from eastern Germany to fill regional shortages.
• Education unions and the IW study urge retaining staff by improving child-to-carer ratios, citing lower enrollment as an opportunity to boost care quality.
• Saxony’s state parliament has enacted a temporary freeze on Kita closures and directed facilities to use surplus capacity to strengthen personnel ratios.