Young people who are particularly dependent on support to compensate for social disadvantages or to overcome individual impairments should be offered socio-educational assistance within the framework of youth welfare.

Areas of youth social work are

• Youth vocational assistance (e.g. in the form of qualification offers, advice, assistance during training)
• Promoting the integration of immigrant young people (e.g. through international youth work, youth migration services)
• General youth social work (e.g. prevention and measures against violence and discrimination)
• Socio-educational help for young people who have committed crimes
• (Extracurricular) leisure and educational activities
• School and pupil-related youth social work
• Youth housing services (e.g. in the form of supervised youth housing communities)

Youth social work at schools is also of particular importance. It helps to reduce the potential for conflict by promoting the individual and social development of pupils and by cooperating with schools, parents and institutions in the community.

One of the aims of youth social work is to promote a wide range of regional services and networks. Public and independent youth welfare organizations at local authority level carry out these tasks in their area of responsibility and are supported by the Lower Saxony Ministry for Social Affairs, Health and Equality and the State Office for Social Affairs, Youth and Family Affairs in the form of project funding, advice and further training.