Expertise

Children, Youth & Families

Providing targeted support to families.

Germany has around eight million families with underaged children. These families are of vital importance to our society – the task of family policy is therefore to provide support that is as targeted as possible.

Aims of family policy

A family’s prerequisites have an effect on how they navigate their responsibilities in society. However, the needs and expectations of families are becoming increasingly diverse. Three central objectives for family policy are: the economic stability of families and their support in special circumstances, a successful reconciliation of family and work, and a promising upbringing for children.

Childcare is a foundation for equal opportunities in later education and careers. To support families in their educational responsibilities and in the reconciliation of family and work, needs-based and high-quality care offers as well as a sufficient supply of skilled workers are required.

When mothers and fathers are able to work and have time for care and family members, this has a positive effect on the family and all other family policy objectives. A partnership-based reconciliation of family and work effectively protects against the risks of poverty.

A preventative social and family policy invests early, in an infrastructure-oriented way, in equal opportunities for children and their families. This includes monetary benefits such as child benefit, child allowance, and parental allowance, early help for the youngest, but also family education, family recreation, and family counselling.

Companies as actors in family policy

Employers have a key role: through a family-conscious personnel policy, they support the reconciliation of family and work – by offering flexible working hours, home office working, or a corporate culture that considers parents’ needs. This not only results in more satisfied employees, but also the provision of skilled workers and other positive economic effects.

Children, Youth & Families: A selection of our services

Data analytics

By evaluating official statistics and representative data sets, we create a robust basis for political decisions. The Microcensus and the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) are proven starting points for our analyses.

Simulation of changes in the tax and transfer system

With our microsimulation model, we present the economic effects of changes in the tax and transfer system on different family structures.

Data collection

We answer family policy questions using data collection. We conduct interviews with families, companies, youth welfare offices, and other family policy actors.

Evaluations

We evaluate different family policy benefits, federal and state programmes – using the quantitative and qualitative methods of empirical social research.

Simulation of the development of skilled workers

On the basis of our skilled-worker model, we show how the essential determinants of skilled labour supply and demand will develop in the medium term.

Cost and return analyses

We analyse financing models for the services of general interest in terms of their adequacy and calculate the costs and returns of innovations in the system.

Our work on this topic

Take a look at our latest projects and activities.

Christian Böllhoff on the parental allowance debate

2023
| Company news

Family policy in the spotlight: “We do not need short-winded politics that disrupt and divide,” writes head of Prognos in his SPIEGEL guest article.

Evaluation of the infant nutrition preventive programme

ongoing
| Project

For the Association of Private Health Insurance, Prognos supports and evaluates the develop-ment of the “Early happiness: Discovering nutrition together” programme.

Success Factor Family

ongoing
| Project

With the “Success Factor Family” business programme, the BMFSFJ, together with the leading associations of the German economy and the DGB, is committed to a family-conscious work-place.

Inflation – extra burden and relief for family households

2022
| Project

Calculations on inflation-related additional private household expenditure and the work of the Federal Government's relief package.

Report on all-day education and childcare services for primary school children

ongoing
| Project

By the year 2027, Germany will need around 470,000 additional all-day places for primary school-aged children. On behalf of the Family Ministry, we examined how this will be achieved.

No generational conflict: Young and old are primarily looking for security.

2022
| Project

Study compares “boomers” and Generation Z: high need for security for young and old alike.

Evaluation of childcare services in NRW

ongoing
| Project

On behalf of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia’s Ministry for Children, Family, Refugees, and Integration, Prognos is evaluating the changes that the amended Children's Education Act (KiBiz) will have on day care.

Learning from the Corona crisis

2021
| Project

Experiences and new impulses for company reconciliation policy.

The situation of single or separated parents

2021
| Project

The 43rd Family Research Monitor presents new figures, facts and study results on the situation of single and separated parents in Germany.

Services for families in Germany

2021
| Project

Family education and family counselling facilities in Germany have a wide reach and support people in different social situations. This is shown in a study for the BMFSFJ.

ZDF Germany Study 2019

2019
| Project

On behalf of ZDF, we examined the external living conditions for families and senior citizens in Germany's 401 districts and independent cities.

Care Perspective. Reorientation of the elderly care profession

2019
| Project

The annual expenditure of social long-term care insurance will continue to increase in the coming decades according to the results of a Prognos study for the Bertelsmann Foundation.

ZDF Germany Study 2018

2018
| Project

Where is the best place to live in Germany? Prognos investigated this question on behalf of ZDFzeit.

Learning from the world: handling of cultural diversity

2018
| Project

How can living together in cultural diversity succeed? On the occasion of the award of the Reinhard Mohn Prize 2018, Prognos was commissioned by the Bertelsmann Stiftung to conduct international good-practice research on this question.

Society 5.0

2018
| Project

Implications of digitalisation for areas of life like work, health and mobility – that is the topic of “Society 5.0,” the short study carried out by Capgemini and Prognos.

Competence Office for Effective Family Policy

2023
| Project

Together with the Allensbach Institute, Prognos formed the Competence Office for Effective Family Policy. The Competence Office worked on behalf of the BMFSFJ, conducting research and advising on current issues of family policy.

Future Family Report 2030

2016
| Project

This expert report looks at various scenarios. It shows that continued development of family policy has a positive impact on the economy as a whole.

Pension Perspectives 2040

2015
| Project

How high the pensions will be for a typical employee depends, among other things, on the occupation and the place of residence. This is the result of recent research by Prognos for GDV.

Cost-benefit analysis of family-friendly corporate policy

2010
| Project

The model calculation for selected Swiss companies shows that the immediate positive effects of a family-friendly personnel policy outweigh the costs.

Do you have questions?

Your contact at Prognos

Dr David Juncke

Partner, Head of Family Policy

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Dr Dagmar Weßler-Poßberg

Partner, Head of Social Policy

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About us

Prognos – Providing Orientation.

Prognos is one of the oldest economic research centres in Europe. Founded at the University of Basel, Prognos experts have been conducting research for a wide range of clients from the public and private sectors since 1959 – politically independent, scientifically sound.

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