The local youth welfare office decides whether and to what extent parental contributions are charged for the use of child day care services. If the respective youth welfare office levies parental contributions, it must provide for a social scale and take into account the economic capacity of the parents and the duration of care. In particular, the income of the parents, the number of children entitled to child benefit in the family and the daily care time of the child can be taken into account as criteria for the scale.

The parental contributions are regulated in the parental contribution statutes for child day care of the responsible youth welfare offices. Information on the amount and calculation of contributions can be found on the municipal websites. If you have any questions about the amount or calculation of parental contributions, please contact the local youth welfare office only.

Furthermore, these general conditions apply in North Rhine-Westphalia:

• The costs for the use of subsidized childcare services in day care are determined exclusively by the local youth welfare office of the place of residence. In NRW, childminders are not allowed to charge parents any fees, with the exception of a reasonable contribution for meals.
• The amount of parental contributions for publicly funded childcare services depends - insofar as parental contributions are charged in the youth welfare office district - on the annual income of the parents or the parent with parental authority.
The contribution generally depends on the childcare requirements (children under three or over three) and the contractually agreed individual scope of care.
• The last two years of childcare before the child starts school are generally free of charge in North Rhine-Westphalia.
• In the case of low incomes, the youth welfare office can pay the contributions in full or proportionately on application; this means that parents do not have to pay any or lower parental contributions, especially if they receive housing or social benefits.

If you have any questions about the amount or calculation of parental contributions, please contact the local youth welfare office.

To make it easier for you as parents to contact the youth welfare office responsible for you, we have set up the following search function. Simply search for the name of the municipality in which you live using the alphabet or the zip code area to find your youth welfare office.