Care of disabled children

The level of support for the care of a disabled child is defined by the extra amount of care the child needs in comparison to a child without disability of the same age (§15, V2 social law book XI).

How the times to take care of a child without disabilities are measured, you can find out from the website linked on the right hand side.

Based on these times the care for a disabled child must:

• Take at least 1,5 hours longer in hygiene, feeding and mobility to achieve care level one.
• At least three hours longer in the mentioned areas for care level two
• At least 5 hours longer with the carer available at all times and the child must also be in need for care at nights to achieve care level three

The application for care benefits must also be directed at the nursing care insurance. As with care for the elderly, the medical service of health insurances (MDK) will assess the need for care by sending an expert to your home. Based on this expertise the care level, and with it, the amount of care benefits is decided.

You will receive between 462€ - 3.224€ to finance an ambulant care service, depending on the care level you were assigned.  The care benefits for home care, usually offered by the parents, amounts to between 305€ - 700€. For the care of children under the age of 18, you are eligible to short-term care in welfare institutions for the disabled or similarly suitable institutions.

The person providing the care has the same claim to care leave (see above) under the same conditions as people who care for elderly relatives. They can also claim temporary work absence, the payment of contributions to social insurances and respite care (see “respite care”).

Child support can be claimed up to the 25 year of children with disabilities (with exemptions up to 27 years) if their disability was diagnosed before, this time and the children have no way to support themselves as a result. There are also tax-exempt amounts in place for families with a disabled child.