Chemnitz Network for Early Help and Preventive Child Protection
... for a successful start in life
"Every child actually needs three things. It needs tasks that allow it to grow, it needs role models that it can follow and it needs communities in which it feels at home."
Prof Dr Gerald Hüther
Early help is child protection
The birth of a child is a new beginning that turns all of the expectant parents' previous habits upside down. It can easily be accompanied by joy, uncertainty, many questions and worries. Familiar people are not always available to single parents and young families to offer advice and support.
The Chemnitz Network for Early Help and Preventive Child Protection offers pregnant women and young parents support and help to spend the wonderful time together with their child in a loving, safe and healthy way.
The network brings together specialists from different areas in order to provide parents with the relevant support services at an early stage in line with their situation and needs.
The early help services are voluntary, free of charge and confidential.
Information material:
- Flyer "Early help network and preventive child protection"
- Flyer "Support for young families"
(Information for professionals on family midwives and family health and paediatric nurses) - Flyer "My family midwife"
- Framework concept Chemnitz Network for Early Help and Preventive Child Protection 2021 - 2025
What is early help?
The three-minute short film clearly explains what early help is and how pregnant women and families in need of support can access the services. In addition to parents, it is also aimed at professionals who support and advise mothers and fathers.
Source: National Centre for Early Intervention / Federal Centre for Health Education
> to the film
Child protection network
The Federal Child Protection Act has placed the Child Protection Network on a legal footing and created a binding invitation system. Early help services make a significant contribution to the healthy development of children and ensure their rights to protection, support and participation.
Campaign
"It's normal that I'm so insecure" campaign to support parents seeking advice
In cooperation with the National Centre for Early Help (NZFH) and the state of Saxony, the City of Chemnitz's Early Help and Preventive Child Protection Network has launched a new campaign to support parents seeking advice.
Early help is aimed at families and children from pregnancy to the age of three and helps to ensure that parents can take good care of their children, especially when things get difficult and problems arise.
In Chemnitz, posters, postcards and materials are now available to take away. With the slogan "Normal, that I am so insecure?" and other slogans, they motivate young and expectant parents,
- the anonymous and free parents' helpline of the "Nummer gegen Kummer" (NgK) or
- the online counselling service for parents provided by the Bundeskonferenz für Erziehungsberatung e. V./bke .
The parents' helpline can be reached anonymously and free of charge on Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 11am and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5pm to 7pm on 0800 1110550.
Parents seeking advice receive counselling on all topics and are referred to the local early help services. For example, family midwives, parent-child groups, early intervention centres or family education programmes can help. Together with the parents, they can provide support and find solutions.
Network
2025
►► Network meeting
- 36th network meeting
12 March 2025 - 37th network meeting
5 November 2025
►► Series of events
"Taking a professional approach to child protection"
(registration required)
- 25 March 2025
- 26 August 2025
- 4 November 2025
"Child protection and parental involvement - conducting conversations in the context of suspected child endangerment"
(registration required)
- 28 January 2025
- 3 June 2025
- 21 October 2025
"An introduction to the development of violence protection concepts"
(registration required)
- 8 April 2025
- 3 September 2025
- 9 December 2025
The Chemnitz Early Help Network in concrete terms
- promotes the healthy physical, mental and emotional development of children
- recognises risks to the child's well-being at an early stage and initiates the necessary measures to protect the child
- promotes the relationship and parenting skills of (expectant) mothers and fathers
- creates optimal cooperative relationships and network structures of potential network partners
- coordinates the work of family midwives in families
- sensitises society to child protection
The Chemnitz Early Help Network
offers support and coordinates individual assistance for
- underage pregnant women
- single parents, couples and families who need help from the very beginning of pregnancy
as well as parents and single parents
- with difficulties coping with the everyday demands of having a child
- who feel overwhelmed and insecure in their relationship with their child and in parenting issues
- with psychosocial problems, such as increased neediness, isolation, migration background, domestic violence