Voluntary guardianships

Young minors who have come to Hamburg without parents or whose parents have been deprived of custody need legal representation. The law gives priority to voluntary guardianship over official/association guardianship due to the personal relationship level. As a guardian, you support the reorganization of living conditions and are a stable reference person for young people. By arranging a voluntary guardianship, the children and young people have someone at their side to build a personal, trusting and lasting relationship.

Your Tasks

In cooperation with youth welfare professionals, the guardian ensures continuity in the young person's life, the best possible choice of school and education, medical care, legal representation and support during the asylum procedure. The ongoing relationship with committed volunteers gives young people the opportunity to regain confidence after an often very uncertain and stressful life situation. Experience has shown that young people benefit greatly from having a volunteer guardian representing their interests and involving them in decisions.

Tasks in a guardianship:
- All tasks of parental care
- Health care
- Property care
- personal care
- Right of residence
- Regular contact with the ward in order to represent him or her in all areas.
- Accompaniment to important appointments as legal representative

*Guardianship is not linked to taking the ward into one's own household. 

What's needed

Become a mentor if you want to ..
- ... to be a person of trust
- ... to offer a reliable and open relationship
- ... take on responsibility and commit to spending some of your free time on the ward's behalf
- ... to cooperate with authorities and other institutions in the interests of the ward
- ... accept our offers of support, training and advice

Previous experience or educational qualifications are not a prerequisite. We conduct a joint meeting and selection interview with all interested volunteers and assume that they are willing to take part in the preparatory training. In order to work as a mentor, you must have a police clearance certificate. You will receive more information about this in the introductory meeting.

The accompanying offer:
- Intensive and binding preparatory training
- Individual counseling opportunities
- Exchange of experiences through guided guardian meetings
- Further training opportunities on key topics
- Compensation for expenses
- Liability and accident insurance

Time required

2-4 hours per week, divided into contact with the ward and organizational tasks

Important notice

the Kinderschutzbund Landesverband Hamburg e.V. is committed to protecting children from violence, combating child poverty and implementing children's rights in Germany. It is committed to a child-friendly society in which the mental, psychological, social and physical development of children and young people is promoted. Children and young people should be involved in all decisions, plans and measures that affect them. In particular, it advocates - children growing up free of violence - preventative services that strengthen parents and children in dealing with crises - the expansion of social security for children and parents - education and upbringing in a child-friendly environment - age-appropriate communication through administration, politics and the media. To this end, it supports projects that counteract the problem of poverty, ensure the protection of refugee children, counteract discrimination against migrants and provide therapeutic and practical help.