Young people who are particularly dependent on support to compensate for social disadvantages or to overcome individual challenges should be offered social-educational assistance as part of youth welfare services.

Areas of youth social work include

• Youth vocational assistance (e.g., in the form of training programs, counseling, support during vocational training, or preparation for the job market in youth workshops and Pro-Aktiv centers)
• Promoting the integration of immigrant youth (e.g., through international youth work and youth migration services)
• General youth social work (e.g., prevention and measures against violence and discrimination)
• Social-educational support for young people who have committed offenses
• (Extracurricular) school-based and non-school-based recreational and educational programs
• School- and student-focused youth social work
• Youth housing programs (e.g., in the form of supervised youth residential communities)

Youth social work in schools is also of particular importance. By promoting students’ individual and social development and by collaborating with schools, parents, and community institutions, it helps reduce the potential for conflict.

Promoting a wide range of regionally distributed programs and networks is a key objective of youth social work. Public and private youth welfare agencies at the local level carry out these tasks within their areas of responsibility and are supported in this by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, and Equality, as well as the State Office for Social Affairs, Youth, and Family, through project funding, consulting, and continuing education.