State benefits for families

You receive child benefit regardless of your income for every child from birth until at least their 18th birthday. All information on child benefit, an explanatory film and links to the appropriate online applications can be found here on the Familienportal.NRW.

If money is tight in your family and your income is not sufficient to support the family, you may be entitled to a monthly child supplement in addition to child benefit. Find out here on the Familienportal.NRW under which conditions you can get child supplement and how to apply for it.

Mothers and fathers can claim part of the parental leave between the 3rd and 8th birthday of their child. For parental leave taken after your child's 3rd birthday, please note the following specifics:

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• If your child was born before July 1, 2015, you can carry over a maximum of 12 months to the period after the 3rd birthday. You must give notice of parental leave no later than 7 weeks before the planned start date. The protection against dismissal begins 8 weeks before the start of parental leave.
• If your child was born after July 1, 2015, then you are entitled to a maximum of 24 months of parental leave from the 3rd birthday. You must register the parental leave after the 3rd birthday 13 weeks before the planned start. The protection against dismissal begins 14 weeks before the start of parental leave.

The employer must agree to your request. A refusal would only be possible for urgent operational reasons. More information worth knowing about parental leave you can here on the Familienportal.NRW.

When your child is sick, he or she needs special care. To ensure care during this time, you can apply for children's sick days. In the Corona pandemic, the number of children's sick days for parents and single parents was increased. For the years 2022 and 2023, the following regulation applies:

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• Parents with statutory health insurance can apply for 30 working days of children's sick pay per child with statutory health insurance instead of the previous 20. If there are several children, each parent is entitled to a maximum of 65 working days in total.
• Single parents are entitled to 60 instead of 40 sick days per child. With multiple children, single parents are entitled to a maximum of 130 working days in total.

On the website of the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs you will find more information and answers to frequently asked questions. A sample certificate for applying for daily child sickness benefits can be found here.

All children and young people should have the chance to participate. If parents earn little, benefits from the education and participation package can be applied for, which open up the chance to participate in many educational, cultural and sports areas. The financial assistance can be used for participation in daycare and childcare services, school and leisure activities. On this website of Familienportal.NRW, we have compiled important information for you on the individual benefits, on how to apply, and an explanatory film.

In the corona pandemic with many class cancellations and homeschooling, not all children have found it easy to learn well. To catch up on learning, the state and federal governments are providing funding through the end of the 2022/2023 school year under the "Arrive and Catch Up" action program.

If your child needs additional support to catch up at school, your daughter or son can receive an education voucher. The Ministry of Education has detailed information on this website specifically for guardians, among others.

You are a single parent and receive no or not regular maintenance for your child or children? Then you can apply for an advance on child support at the youth welfare office. What you need to know about this and an application can be found on the Familienportal.NRW

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Do you also feel that it's time for a family vacation to get away from it all and recharge your batteries? Maybe you think you can't afford an expensive vacation. A cost-effective alternative to expensive individual vacations are non-profit family vacation centers. Never heard of them? Then find out about the offers on the Familienportal.NRW. Under certain conditions, you can receive a subsidy from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia at selected family holiday centers.