Here you will find an overview of the protective rights for children in NRW:
http://www.familienatlas.de/zusammenleben/krisen-und-gewalt/kinderschutz
Children are protected from danger by special legal regulations.
German constitution
In Article 6 (2) German constitution (Grundgesetz), the fundamental right of children to protection manifests itself, where it says: Care and education of children are the natural right of the parents and their primary duty. Their activity is watched over by the state community. Thus, there is a fundamental right of parents to care for and educate children, but the child has the right to duly exercise parental authority and thus a right to state intervention if parents are unable or unwilling to shoulder their responsibilities.
Civil Code
Paragraph 1666 BGB substantiates the State Guardian Office formulated in Article 6 (2) Basic Law. The Family Court has to take legal action if the child's physical, mental or emotional well-being or assets are endangered and the parents are unwilling or unable to avert the danger.
SGB VIII
According to § 8a SGB VIII, it is the job of the youth welfare office to determine the possible danger to the child's well-being and to avert it by practical socio-pedagogical action.
There are four types of child endangerment:
• Neglect is understood to be the persistent or repeated omission of caring by the legal guardians (parents or other persons, assigned with care). Neglect can occur at an educational or physical level, for example lack of educational influence in case of irregular school attendance or inadequate care and care of the child. With food, clean clothes or hygiene.
• Physical abuse includes the actions of parents or other caregivers who, through the use of physical coercion or violence, can foreseeably cause significant physical or mental impairment to the young person and their development.
• Mental abuse includes hostile, repellent or ignoring behaviors of parents or other caregivers as long as they are an integral part of education. These include, for example, the hostile rejection of the child, the imposition / compulsion of the child to punishable behavior, the isolation of the child from social contacts or the refusal of emotional attention. Another case group of mental ill-treatment are minors who repeatedly experience massive forms of partner violence in the family or experience targeted alienation from a parent.
• Sexual violence includes crimes committed against children and adolescents that violate the right to sexual self-determination and may have a negative impact on the development of the minor (s). All sexual acts committed on or in front of a child / adolescent are punishable, regardless of the behavior or any active involvement of the young person.
You will find further important aspects in the section on children's rights.