Vienna publishes plan for controversial Auszeit-WG

Vienna has published the 16-page concept for the controversial Auszeit-WG, a facility for repeat offenders below the age of criminal responsibility, after months of criticism, ORF reported on Monday.

The document and accompanying materials are now available online. The concept was submitted by the provider neue wege, according to a spokesperson for the city authority MA 11. The accompanying documents cover trauma and sexual education as well as violence prevention.

A slightly amended 17-page version of the concept, dated July, was published by APA this summer. Experts subsequently called for the document to be disclosed in full.

City councillor Bettina Emmerling of the NEOS party said more than two weeks ago that the document was a concept paper from the spring. In early August, she said it was unclear which document had been the subject of public criticism. Earlier, officials had said they believed the material consisted only of handouts from the provider.

The city said the shared house followed an innovative educational approach. Its focus was to interrupt dangerous behaviour, carry out a social-educational assessment alongside psychological and psychiatric evaluations, and develop individually tailored follow-up measures that restrict freedom as little as possible.

Such measures would be considered only as a last resort, the city said. “The aim is to protect the population from young repeat offenders and break cycles of violence,” Emmerling said. The assessments would also provide the basis for an individual care plan.

Emmerling again called on the Justice Ministry to create a federal legal basis for facilities modelled on the Auszeit-WG.

The city said the facility was subject to comprehensive oversight by the Children and Youth Ombudsman, including monitoring compliance with children’s rights standards. The ombudsman also serves as an independent external complaints office. MA 11 supervises compliance with legal requirements and relevant professional standards, while the city’s research centre for child and youth welfare is scientifically accompanying and evaluating the project.

The house and adjoining building on Vienna’s outskirts in Simmering are the first facility of this kind in Austria. The two-place facility operates under the Residential Placement Act, which originates in the healthcare sector, and costs almost one million euros a year. The Auszeit-WG began operating almost two months ago.