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LSG reimbursement for psychosocial care in the refuge for Hartz IV recipients
If Hartz IV recipients flee from domestic violence to a women's shelter, this must also be possible in foreign institutions. If the women there are psychosocially looked after for integration into the labor market, the Wohnortkommune of the woman must reimburse the costs in principle, the Landessozialgericht (LSG) of North Rhine-Westphalia ruled in a judgment published on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 (Ref .: L 6 AS 1315/15). The Essen judges thus secured the financing of women's shelters.
Specifically, it was about so-called municipal integration services. According to the legal provisions, the municipalities are responsible for this and should promote integration into the labor market. They include debt and addiction counseling, psychosocial care and the care of children or the home care of relatives. The contact persons for these municipal integration services are often the job centers. However, the local payor can then reimburse the costs of the municipality of residence of the needy.
(Image: wstockstudio / fotolia.com) The lawsuit, which has now been decided, involved an unemployment benefit II recipient who, in early 2011, together with her three children, fled domestic violence in front of her partner in a women's shelter outside their place of residence. In total, the wife and children spent 114 days in the facility. Not only did they receive a roof over their heads, they were also mentally cared for.
In accordance with the concept of the Frauenhaus-Trägererverein, the woman was offered a crisis intervention, talks on dealing with the experiences of violence and on the situation of separation or also assistance with finding accommodation and dealing with authorities. The voluntary offers should help to promote integration into the labor market.
The job center had paid the women's house in a decided lawsuit, the cost of this. The authorities demanded reimbursement of psychosocial care from the woman's place of residence. Overall, it was around 2,846 euros.
The local community refused the payment. It is not reimbursable costs. The daily rate for the psychosocial care required by the women's shelter per needy woman in the amount of 24.75 euros is too high. One would thus co-finance the general personnel costs of the women's shelter. It is also not possible to influence the amount of care costs. Because the women's shelter is located outside and not at the place of residence of the woman.
In its judgment of 24 November 2016, the LSG clarified that the costs of psychosocial care must be reimbursed. Psychosocial care means not only psychiatric or psychotherapeutic interventions, but also low-threshold services that stabilize those affected in their mental and social situation and promote reintegration into work. This claim will meet the care concept of the women's shelter.
Nor is it apparent that the general allowance for the women's shelter is subsidized by the daily allowance in an inadmissible manner.
According to the LSG decision, women must be able to seek protection from their partner even in women's shelters outside their place of residence. The fact that a municipality has no influence on the care rates there is irrelevant, according to the LSG. On the one hand, it could itself set up a sufficient regional structure for women seeking refuge; on the other hand, it must be assumed that other municipalities do not negotiate excessive daily rates for local women's shelters. After all, these municipalities are also committed to the principle of economic efficiency.
Due to fundamental importance, the Essen judges allowed the revision to the Federal Social Court in Kassel.
In another case, the Munich Social Court had ruled that women's shelters could demand reimbursement of accommodation and care even if the facility was underutilized (judgment of 22 June 2016, file no .: S 52 AS 538/13; JurAgentur- Message of 5 September 2016).
The Social Court of Braunschweig also made it clear on April 9, 2014 that job centers also have to pay for doubly incurred accommodation expenses, once for the women's shelter and once for the previous apartment, for which rental payments are still due (Ref .: S 49 AS 185/12, JurAgentur Report dated 12 September 2014). fle / mwo