After FALTER Revelations About SOS Children's Villages — Carinthia Changes Child Welfare Law

Carinthia is cleaning up in child and youth welfare. There are to be personnel changes — and an amendment to the law.

I've been dealing with inappropriate treatment of children for weeks. It's heavy stuff, but it's been worth it.

When an investigation is worthwhile is not easy to answer. In the best case, a story reveals abuses and makes them known to a broad public. And in the very best case, these abuses are subsequently also remedied.

Whether the abuses in SOS Children's Villages that FALTER uncovered a month ago are now finally being eliminated, we cannot yet judge. Fact is: things are moving. The impact is great.

About two weeks after the first FALTER story, SOS Children's Villages suspended long-time managing director Christian Moser until further notice and set up an independent reform commission under the leadership of Irmgard Griss, former President of the Supreme Court and former Neos politician. In Tyrol and Carinthia, the public prosecutor's offices are investigating. At the federal level, all parliamentary parties called on Family Minister Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP) to convene a "round table" with experts. The FPÖ and Greens submitted a parliamentary inquiry to Justice Minister Anna Sporrer (SPÖ).

And cleaning up is also happening in Carinthia. The state authorities, obligated to oversee the Children's Villages, looked the other way for years. Now child and youth welfare is being restructured. According to FALTER information, there were personnel changes in the office as a reaction to the scandal. Officially, no one wants to confirm this.

What can be confirmed: the case will lead to a legislative change. The constitutional service is working on an amendment to the Carinthian Child and Youth Welfare Act. The law is intended to newly regulate the documentation and reporting of suspected cases and the handling of compensation payments, oblige provider organizations to prevention guidelines and child protection concepts, or standardize onboarding processes with mandatory child protection training. The amendment also provides for an external complaints office for employees.

In addition, Governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) commissioned a special commission with an internal audit. It has been reviewing the allegations since the end of September.

The responsible councilor Sara Schaar (SPÖ) announced at the beginning of the week that she would step down from office at the end of October. The party denies a connection with the failure of the authority in the case. On social media, Schaar wrote about her resignation: "Before I take this step, it was important to me to come to terms with the SOS Children's Villages scandal uncovered by Falter to the extent that all necessary steps for a reorientation of child and youth welfare in Carinthia have been initiated."

Apart from politics, potential new affected persons are coming forward. After the FALTER reports, SOS Children's Villages set up contact points for people who "have experienced injustice" in the past. By Tuesday, 26 people had already come forward.

And what is FALTER doing? Continuing to investigate. The story is not over yet. Because that too is a hallmark of quality: staying on it.