We strengthen families with babies and small children so that they have a successful start in life.

The birth of a child is a moment of great happiness for parents, but it also entails new challenges. The Crespo Foundation supports families in this special situation in their lives. The solution to every problem is not immediately apparent. Sometimes it requires professional assistance. Together with its cooperation partners, the Foundation seeks to contribute to creating structures that give families quick and unbureaucratic access to precisely the advice or support they require.

I would like to thank the Crespo Foundation for helping to tackle and close this gap in the state welfare system. The project Babylotse (Baby Pilots) that we collaborate on is worthy of emulation.”

Heinz Hilgers

Heinz Hilgers is President of Deutsches Kinderschutzbund (the German Child Protection Agency), former Mayor of Dormagen and a former member of the State Parliament of North-Rhine Westphalia.

For over 60 years the German Child Protection Agency has been fighting for the rights of children in our society. We want to empower children, to create child-friendly and family-friendly living conditions and equal opportunities for all children. This happens at a national level by our voicing our opinion on planned legislation. But it largely happens in our local projects in which our 50,000 members are actively involved in a variety of ways.

We assign absolute priority to the topic of prevention: We believe children and their parents are best helped when problems are tackled before they become substantial or chronic. Some parents are in this phase before and after the birth of their child, for example, and experience stress that might also have an impact on the development and health of their children. Sadly, only a small minority of them manage to find suitable support services even though many such offerings exist. A guidance system would be ideal, but to date there is no comprehensive early detection network or system for finding such offers. This would need to be set up by the states.

I would like to thank the Crespo Foundation for working with us to close this gap in the state welfare system. The “Babylotse” project we collaborate on could most definitely function as a model. Thanks to the comprehensive approach, which incorporates local politics and natal clinics, our “baby pilots” will be able to reach all Frankfurt families in future. Prevention and child protection in the Rhine Main region are currently taking a great step forwards. Deutsches Kinderschutzbund is happy to have the Crespo Foundation as a strong partner at its side. It is the side of the children.