A new wind in the youth welfare office: Sarah Stadler follows Uwe Hacker!

A new wind in the youth welfare office: Sarah Stadler follows Uwe Hacker!

These are exciting times for the Youth Welfare Office of the Munich District Office: After 37 years of service, Uwe Hacker will go into his well-deserved retirement on October 31, 2025. The long-time director, who has been at the helm of the institution since 2006, has accomplished a lot during his time. He was previously deputy head for 12 years, which gave him deep insight into the needs of children, young people and their families. He lived his philosophy of putting people at the center primarily through the implementation of important legal innovations such as the Child and Youth Welfare Act and the Child and Youth Strengthening Act.

District Administrator Christoph Göbel did not miss the opportunity to honor Hacker's commitment and humanity in a worthy speech. “His foresight and his ability to deal with the challenges of youth welfare have always helped us move forward,” says Göbel.

Successor with experience

Sarah Stadler will succeed Uwe Hacker. With more than 20 years of experience in the district office, she brings extensive knowledge of child and youth welfare structures. Her academic training includes a diploma in social education and a master's degree in social work. For the last two years she has been deputy head of department and was previously head of the prevention, advice and coordination department. At her side will be Dr. Monika Wilken will take over as deputy manager. The doctor of sociology has been working in the district office since 2019 and is responsible for ensuring that digitalization and controlling do not remain just buzzwords.

The new management team has decided to preserve the existing structures, but also to dynamically shape new developments. The needs of children, young people and families in the region are diverse, as the youth situation in the Munich district shows.

Current challenges and future visions

The need for timely support offers is undisputed. In October, the Youth Welfare Committee approved a current concept for the further development of youth welfare planning. Ultimately, this planning is a mandatory task of the youth welfare office in accordance with Section 80 SGB VIII. Uwe Hacker described the priorities as “agile, dynamic and regional”. Two main goals of the new concept are the establishment of quality and controlling processes as well as needs-oriented planning. “Especially in a heterogeneity like ours, dynamic planning tools are essential,” explained Stadler during a meeting.

As a result of these planned changes, specialists such as youth welfare planner Sarah Stadler and controller Benjamin Schäfer have clear ideas about which services are needed and in what quality. Their main goal: “Use resources that are already there” and improve support for young people and their families.

One of the pilot projects, which has been successfully tested in the municipality of Taufkirchen since 2018, is intended to serve as a pioneer for a standard concept across the entire district. Control and cooperation with the Department for Children, Youth and Families were intensified. A budget of 30,000 euros for “extraordinary measures” shows the willingness of the district councils to take concrete steps to improve youth welfare.

Youth welfare in Germany, which has been constantly changing since the reforms at the end of the 1980s, now offers important forms of support for children and their families. Key aspects here are the promotion of open prevention and preventive offers. SGB ​​VIII, which forms the basis of child and youth welfare, is continually adapted to meet changing needs. Historically, youth welfare offices were founded as early as 1922, but the development towards a service-oriented approach only began in the 1990s.

Munich is facing an exciting future in the area of ​​youth welfare - with a new management that impresses with its experience and has the will to tackle the challenges of the coming years.

Further information about the developments and structure of youth welfare in the Munich district can be found on the website of Munich district, Our Würmtal and Youth welfare.