Vom Konzept zur gelebten Kultur. ‚Beteiligungsbeauftragte‘ in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe als Motor von Organisationsentwicklung?

Following a recent reform of the Eighth Code of Social Law, the participation of children and adolescents has gained significance both on a legal level and as a guiding socio-pedagogical principle. Against this backdrop, this article in the journal “Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. (GIO)” discusses a process of organisational development in the field of inpatient educational assistance and full-time care within youth welfare services in Germany. Based on an internal training workshop for social education workers at a private child and youth welfare provider, the article analyses their contribution towards the development of a participatory organisational culture. In doing so, it first describes the organisation’s participation concept and related training design, and then discusses both drawing on participants’ experiences and critical inquiries from participation research. In their role as “participation officers”, social workers thus emerge as internal consultants who can foster the implementation of the legal right to participation in the day-to-day organisation of educational assistance through up-to-date expertise and a high degree of organisational integration.