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In 2020, around 72,500 families received support with almost 100 million euros. In an interview with the APA, Family Minister Christine Aschbacher (VP) admitted “challenges” at the beginning of the funding, but since then the administration of the fund has been simplified.
The fund was created at the start of the pandemic in Austria for people who lost their jobs or signed up for reduced-time work due to the effects of the Corona crisis. Last year 100 million euros were available, 96 million euros have already been used up. On average, families received 1,300 euros from her. The family honor fund was increased by € 50 million by 2021. “Yes, at first it was a challenge for management,” Aschbacher said, but in the meantime IT, the number of employees and processes have increased.
In addition, eligibility requirements will be relaxed: previously, family allowances had to be drawn to qualify for the family honor fund with a deadline of February 28, 2020. Starting next year, this will also apply if the Family allowance was received no later than the time of application. As of January 1, 2021, farmers are also entitled to the family honor fund.
Special care time is also a measure due to the crown crisis and resulted in a surprisingly high proportion of fathers: more than a third of those who benefited from special care were men. “We would like that with other measures,” said the minister.
One in five recipients uses Dad’s Month in public service (no data available for the private sector, note), and a third of the salary-related child care subsidy accounts for a third. Aschbacher was convinced that family policy instruments are working, but this can only be done step by step: “Shaping the roles, that cannot be changed immediately. But we are on the right track, I am convinced.” The childcare subsidy with its different variants is currently being evaluated.
Alimony could also be revised, because a study on the costs of children, a long-standing requirement of women’s organizations, is currently underway. Access to advance maintenance payment was simplified during the crown crisis. The family department made available 137 million euros for this, the measure will last until March 2021.
