Our services
We provide advice online and by telephone, give guidance and help you to take the next steps. Find out here what our services consist of. We explain the award of a federal government mandate to be a Central Contact Point for Cross-border Family Conflicts and Mediation (ZAnK) and we discuss our working principles.
Why ZAnK?
You might wonder why there is a need for a central contact point. If they split up, many parents argue about the arrangements for custody and access rights to their joint children. Sometimes, a feasible solution that suits everyone involved is found rather quickly. Other disputes remain highly contentious, however – partly because specific challenges as a result of a cross-border element arise in addition. Also, the search for a solution can be made more difficult if one parent already lives abroad, if international and foreign law apply or if the influence of different (cultural) perceptions comes to light.
Several hundred children are abducted by a parent from and to Germany every year, often as a result of such cross-border conflicts.
The Central Contact Point for Cross-border Family Conflicts and Mediation was set up in order to provide specialist information and expert advice in this context to private individuals and professionals.
What we offer
The purpose of our advisory work is to
- enable individuals and organisations to find relevant information on what to take into consideration in a specific situation;
- raise awareness of the specific characteristics of cross-border family conflicts;
- offer guidance to those in need of advice – with regard both to the relevant (international) legal provisions and to socio-psychological aspects;
- establish contacts with support structures locally and abroad.
To this end we will listen, analyse each individual situation together and identify possible courses of action.
It is a matter of identifying ways of dealing with a conflict and weighing up which procedure will serve the interests of the affected child in the current situation.
Another purpose of our advice service is to increase knowledge and provide access to networking and collaboration at an international level for professionals who, for example, are confronted with cases with a cross-border element in child and youth welfare or in family courts.
Organisational structure
ZAnK is a service provided by the German Branch of International Social Service (ISD), which is part of Deutscher Verein für öffentliche und private Fürsorge e.V. (German Association for Public and Private Welfare).
Deutscher Verein, or the German Association for Public and Private Welfare, is the joint forum of municipalities and welfare organisations together with their facilities, the Länder (federal states) and private commercial providers of social services, and of representatives of academia in all fields of social work, social policy and social law. It is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.
The ISD is the German branch of the “International Social Service”, an international organisation whose General Secretariat is based in Geneva. Apart from family conflicts with a cross-border element, it is active in questions of child protection (child endangerment, placement) and migration (family reunion, onward migration, return).
Over 90 years of ISD
The International Social Service Germany celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2020. A comprehensive article in the Nachrichtendienst des Deutschen Vereins (NDV) (Deutscher Verein news report) looked back on an eventful past and the associated challenges, including its establishment in the post-war years and the assistance provided to many displaced persons. The ISD has grown steadily ever since, with the focus on children and child welfare increasing over the years.
Mandate award
In November 2011 the ISD, as part of Deutscher Verein, has been entrusted by the German government with sole responsibility for acting as both the Central Contact Point for Cross-border Family Conflicts and the Central Contact Point for Mediation.
For 10 years: A Central Contact Point and a listening ear for those affected.
This was the response of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Conference of interior ministers (Innenministerkonferenz) to a call from the Children’s Commission of the German Bundestag (Kinderkommission des Deutschen Bundestages), which was set up in 2009: A Central Contact Point was to be created to steer the way, advise on child abduction cases and provide support for families. At about the same time, the “Arbeitsgruppe Mediation im Zusammenhang mit dem Malta-Prozess” (Working Party on Mediation in the Context of the Malta Process) drew up criteria for the establishment of “Central Contact Points for Mediation” and defined the requirements of mediation in international family conflicts.
How we work
ZAnK focuses on the welfare of the child; we meet the parents without any preconceptions. Our advisers will refer you to local services where necessary, and as a member of International Social Service are part of a global network.
We treat any concerns brought to us in confidence and, if required, anonymously. ZAnK gives advice independently of any political, religious or national affiliations. We do not charge a fee for our advisory services.
Conflict between parents is a source of considerable stress for their children. It is essential to focus on their rights and interests to prevent them from being used as pawns in parental disputes. Children have a right of contact with both parents. It is important to assuage fears of loss and conflicts of loyalty. For this to succeed, our advisers try, wherever possible, to prevent a conflict from blowing up into a crisis. The main aim here is not to defend the interests of the parents, but rather to find a solution that is most likely to meet the needs of the children involved.
We do not represent a party to a conflict, nor are we the extended arm of authorities and courts. We do not take the side of either parent, nor do we pass judgment on the actions, plans or considerations of people who come to us for advice. Whilst we are committed to the aims of applicable legal provisions, the ZAnK advice service is not part of any repatriation process. In the best case, the information we provide will be of preventive assistance. However, we remain independent at every stage of a conflict and encourage efforts at de-escalation.
We do not charge any fees for advice, whether for one session or several. Calls from landlines are the only costs incurred.
This is not the case if we are appointed in our capacity as the International Social Service to contact people abroad by a public institution and we need to obtain or forward information in the context of an official or judicial procedure. In these circumstances, please refer to the information on cooperation and cost regulation on the ISD website.