On 14 July, a new child protection clinic (KIA) was opened at the Rhön Klinikum in Frankfurt (Oder). It is the fourth such clinic in the state of Brandenburg, alongside those in Potsdam, Eberswalde and Lauchhammer.
Child protection clinics are interdisciplinary facilities that care for children suspected of being neglected or of having been victims of physical or psychological violence or sexual abuse. At the KIA, specialist staff provide medical care for the children, document any injuries and thus provide evidence to support the work of youth welfare offices, the police and the courts. KIA staff also advise youth welfare offices, schools, nurseries, the police and other organisations.
To investigate suspected cases swiftly, the Child Protection Clinic at the Rhön Klinikum Frankfurt (Oder) cooperates with the youth welfare offices of the city of Frankfurt (Oder) and the Oder-Spree district.
The figures demonstrate just how urgently such a child protection clinic is needed in the region. In Frankfurt (Oder), the number of medical assessments in cases of potential child welfare risks has almost doubled in recent years. Between 2022 and 2025, they rose from 220 to 399. At the same time, child protection clinics can also provide relief for affected families. This is shown by last year’s figures. In fact, an acute or latent risk to a child’s welfare was confirmed in only 128 of the 399 cases.
In the Oder-Spree district, too, the number of reported cases of potential risks to children’s welfare rose steadily – from 1,022 in 2021 to 1,321 last year.
Health Minister René Wilke said at the opening of the Frankfurt Child Protection Clinic on Tuesday: “Brandenburg is the last federal state to set up child protection clinics, and for that reason alone I am delighted that we have already launched four of these facilities within just a few weeks. Ensuring effective child protection is, for me, a political matter of course. Wherever there is a suspicion that children’s welfare is at risk, that they are being subjected to violence or that they are being neglected, the situation must be clarified as quickly as possible. This requires medical expertise as well as that of the youth welfare offices, which work closely together in a professional capacity within the child protection clinics. To ensure these clinics are set up in a sustainable manner across the state, reliable funding is still needed. We are working on this.”
Christian Petersen, Managing Director of Rhön Klinikum Frankfurt (Oder), added: “As a tertiary care hospital for its catchment area, Rhön Klinikum Frankfurt (Oder) is firmly established in the field of paediatric care, thanks to its high level of specialist expertise in paediatrics and adolescent medicine, as well as child and adolescent psychiatry. It is our fundamental belief that, as the first point of contact for safeguarding children’s welfare, we should provide the best possible service in cooperation with the other parties involved.”
Dr Axel Strasser, Lord Mayor of Frankfurt (Oder), commented on the new Child Protection Clinic: “Child protection is a responsibility that concerns us all. Cases of abuse, neglect or sexual abuse can occur anywhere, including in our region. This makes it all the more important to offer children and young people protection and help quickly, reliably and professionally in cases of suspected abuse. The Child Protection Clinic creates an important safe space for this purpose and, at the same time, provides a professional foundation to ensure that potential perpetrators can be held consistently to account. I would like to thank the Rhön Klinikum Frankfurt (Oder) and the Brandenburg Ministry of Health for this important step towards strengthening child protection in Frankfurt (Oder) and Oder-Spree. This demonstrates once again the central role that the Rhön Klinikum Frankfurt (Oder) plays for our city and the region. At the same time, I would like to express my deep appreciation and respect for the interdisciplinary team that will be working at this child protection clinic with a high level of professional expertise and great empathy.”
The establishment of child protection clinics in the state of Brandenburg was supported by joint start-up funding from the Ministries of Health and Youth, drawn from lottery funds totalling 170,000 euros.