The German government coalition plans to cut the budget for psychosocial and therapeutic support for traumatized refugees in Germany by nearly 60%, starting in 2024.

That's according to an online statement by the government-funded German Association of Psychosocial Centers for Refugees and Victims of Torture (BAfF), published in late July.

Access to psychosocial support was "essential for survival" for traumatized refugees, the BafF said in its statement. Losing it would lead to their illnesses becoming chronic -- with "fatal consequences" for them and for society at large, according to the organization.

"The psychosocial centers would have to lay off specialists and impose admission freezes, while more and more residents in shelters would have to be admitted to clinics for crisis intervention," BAfF Managing Director Lukas Welz was quoted as saying in the press release.

"The educational and professional prospects of those seeking protection are being destroyed and the consequences will cost all other social systems many times over what is currently flowing into the help system of the psychosocial centers," Welz added.

BafF also pointed out that even without the looming budget cuts, only about 4% of refugees in need of psychosocial care were currently being treated by BafF centers and its partners. Moreover, a recent BAfF report found that traumatized refugees in need of psychological care presently have to wait more than seven months before being granted therapy.

According to studies cited in the report, 87% of all refugees in Germany have experienced potentially traumatizing events such as war or persecution. Around 30% are affected by depressive illnesses or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Read more: Psychotherapists demand better mental health care for asylum seekers in Germany

Calls for better mental health care

In its statement, the BafF called for "early, reliable psychosocial and therapeutic care for those seeking protection by institutions with expertise and experience" as well as "financial security for the psychosocial centers and their specialists."

In recent months and years, attacks by asylum seekers and refugees with psychological disorders --such as the deadly knife attack in the city of Würzburg in 2021 -- highlighted the need for better access to mental health care and more specialist psychiatric care.

However, asylum seekers generally don't have a legal right to accessing psychotherapy during the first 18 months of their stay in Germany.

BAfF, which is a 27-year-old umbrella organization of centers, facilities and projects for victims of human rights violations and political persecution, offers therapy and counseling services to asylum seekers and refugees in 47 centers across Germany.

It is primarily financed through donations as well as government tenders for specific, time-limited projects.

Also read: Safe but not sound -- Syrian refugees on a hard road to mental health

Migrant children disadvantaged at daycare centers

Meanwhile, a new analysis found that immigrant families in Germany are also at a disadvantage when it comes to daycare centers.

According to the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (SVR), which conducted the study, immigrant children tend to attend a daycare center less frequently than children without an immigrant background -- because the hurdles to finding a placement are higher for them.

Around eight out of ten children with a migration background attended a daycare center in 2020, in contrast to virtually all children without a migration background, the analysis said.

The SVR analysis identified a lack of trust in the care at the daycare centers as well as the time and money immigrant families have to spend on the application process as the two main setbacks.

In order for daycare centers -- or "KiTas," as they are called in German -- to become "engines of integration," access to daycare for immigrant families must be "improved and quality assurance measures must be more specifically targeted," the author of the report said.

Among other things, the author recommended securing funding for language support, appreciation for multilingualism, and better working conditions for employees.

The importance of an early start

Early childhood education is considered particularly important for immigrant children, as German language skills acquired during these ages improve their chances of starting and excelling at school.

Furthermore, immigrant parents also receive adequate advice on the German education system in such daycare center, the analysis pointed out.

In Germany, children as young as one year of age are entitled to a placement at a daycare center since the law was modified accordingly in 2013. 

Also read: Germany: Thousands of refugee children unable to attend school