Dortmund's Daycare Policy in Focus: Funding, Expansion, and Ensuring Qualified Staff

Expansion of Daycare Infrastructure: Between Goals and Funding

Dortmund has actively worked to expand childcare services for children in recent years. However, the goal of achieving a 50% U3 childcare coverage rate by 2025 remains unmet. To improve the situation, bridge projects were launched—low-threshold offers aimed at primarily filling the gap for children under three years of age.

The city has continuously increased its municipal funding for these bridge projects: from 244,600 euros in 2024 to 269,000 euros in 2027. Despite these investments, funding from the state support program remains insufficient, endangering the long-term stability of the projects. The SPD Council faction therefore emphasizes the need for the federal and state governments to provide more financial resources in order to ensure the realization of childcare entitlements.

Parental Contributions: Transparent Expansion, but Rising Costs

Significant work was also carried out in the area of daycare funding. The obligation to pay parental contributions is waived for annual incomes above 42,000 euros—an easing for low-income families. At the same time, the contribution table and the calculation of parental contributions were revised to align them linearly progressive with the minimum income.

These changes have led to increased revenue, but also to rising costs for the city. For example, an additional expenditure of 859,100 euros is expected in 2026. The city of Dortmund is financing these expenses from various budget positions and is relying on long-term financial planning to ensure the stability of the daycare infrastructure.

Training and Securing Qualified Staff: The Key to the Future

The shortage of qualified staff in the daycare sector remains one of the biggest challenges. To counter this, the municipal enterprise FABIDO increased the training capacity for state-certified educators from 70 to 95 places per recruitment year starting from 01.08.2026. At the same time, the number of trainee positions is being reduced in order to concentrate resources on practice-integrated training.

Projects such as "Startklar" and "Kita-Einstieg" specifically support people with international qualifications or without prior pedagogical experience in establishing themselves in the daycare sector. Through language courses, pedagogical support, and practical activities, the aim is to attract more qualified professionals in the long term.

Conclusion: A Step in the Right Direction

Dortmund’s daycare policy in January 2026 shows itself to be dynamic and forward-looking. At the same time, the dependence on state and federal financial support remains a problem. Without sufficient funding from higher levels, it will be difficult to sustainably realize the planned childcare entitlements and expansion measures. The city is called upon to intensify dialogue with political partners at the state and federal level in order to ensure the daycare infrastructure in Dortmund in the long term.