Prävention trotz Haushaltssicherung? Haushaltsrechtliche Rahmenbedingungen für vorbeugende Sozialpolitik bei überschuldeten Kommunen in NRW

Konzepte der vorbeugenden Sozialpolitik müssen den Vorgaben des Kommunalrechts genügen. Das gilt insbesondere für überschuldete Kommunen, die ihren Haushalt sanieren müssen. Auch eine Kommune in der Haushaltssanierung ist nicht verpflichtet, ihre freiwilligen Leistungen (etwa im Bereich der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe) aufzugeben. Bei der Frage, welche freiwilligen Aufgaben erhalten bleiben sollen, muss die Kommunalaufsicht den Gestaltungsspielraum der Kommune beachten. Er besteht auch, wenn die Kommune ihren Haushalt saniert. Die Kommunalaufsicht muss ihre Kontrolle in kommunalfreundlicher Weise ausüben. Dazu gehört auch, dass die Normen des Kommunalhaushaltsrechts so interpretiert werden, dass sie den Besonderheiten der vorbeugenden Sozialpolitik gerecht werden

Prävention trotz Haushaltssicherung? Haushaltsrechtliche Rahmenbedingungen für vorbeugende Sozialpolitik bei überschuldeten Kommunen in NRW

Konzepte vorbeugender Sozialpolitik werden auf kommunaler Ebene (etwa in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe) immer wichtiger. Ob bzw. inwieweit ein sozialinvestiver Ansatz kommunalhausrechtlich realisierbar ist - insbesondere, wenn sich eine Kommune in der Haushaltssicherung bzw. -sanierung befindet -, ist bislang nicht hinreichend geklärt. Sozialinvestive Maßnahmen vorbeugender Sozialpolitik betreffen in erster Linie die sog. freiwilligen (Selbstverwaltungs-)Aufgaben. Freiwillige Leistungen dürfen auch unter den Bedingungen der Haushaltssicherung bzw. -sanierung erbracht werden. Die Aufsichtsbehörde darf der Gemeinde nicht alternativlos vorschreiben, freiwillige Aufgaben generell auf ein Mindestmaß abzusenken oder sie vollständig einzustellen. Die Gemeinde entscheidet durch ihre demokratisch gewählten Organe, ob bzw. inwieweit die Reduzierung freiwilliger Leistungen notwendig ist. Insoweit hat die Gemeinde einen Gestaltungsspielraum. Der Umfang des Gestaltungsspielraums wird wesentlich durch das kommunalrechtliche Gebot der nachhaltigen Gewährleistung des gemeindlichen Wohls bestimmt, ferner durch das von der Aufsichtsbehörde zu beachtende Prinzip gemeindefreundlichen Verhaltens. Gemeindefreundlich ist nur eine Kommunalaufsicht, die die Begriffe und Bewertungsmaßstäbe des Kommunalhaushaltsrechts auf das Konzept der Sozialinvestitionen abstimmt.During the last years the concept of social investment has increasingly been fostered as instrument of local authorities' social policy. However, it is still uncertain if this approach is in compliance with the requirements of municipal law. In particular, this is controversial in case an overindebted municipality (local authority) is obliged to restructure its budget and the question rises if so-called voluntary services (f. ex. in the field of child and youth welfare) have to be reduced or even finally stopped. State authorities that oversee the municipal budget management are not entitled to require reductions or final stops without alternative. It is, as a general rule, within the margin of appreciation of the municipality to define if and to what extent the provision of voluntary services has to be reduced or must cease. The municipality’s decision depends on two requirements of municipal law: firstly, the municipality has to comply with the duty to guarantee sustainable municipal welfare. Secondly, the state authority that oversees the budget management is obliged to act in a municipality-friendly manner. Acting in a friendly manner particularly requires that terms, definitions and standards of budget-related municipal law have to be shaped and applied in line with the characteristic traits of the concept of social investment

Prävention trotz Haushaltssicherung?

PRÄVENTION TROTZ HAUSHALTSSICHERUNG? Prävention trotz Haushaltssicherung? / Rixen, Stephan (Rights reserved) ( -

An alpine treeline in a carbon dioxide-rich world: synthesis of a nine-year free-air carbon dioxide enrichment study

We evaluated the impacts of elevated CO2 in a treeline ecosystem in the Swiss Alps in a 9-year free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) study. We present new data and synthesize plant and soil results from the entire experimental period. Light-saturated photosynthesis (A max) of ca. 35-year-old Larix decidua and Pinus uncinata was stimulated by elevated CO2 throughout the experiment. Slight down-regulation of photosynthesis in Pinus was consistent with starch accumulation in needle tissue. Above-ground growth responses differed between tree species, with a 33% mean annual stimulation in Larix but no response in Pinus. Species-specific CO2 responses also occurred for abundant dwarf shrub species in the understorey, where Vaccinium myrtillus showed a sustained shoot growth enhancement (+11%) that was not apparent for Vaccinium gaultherioides or Empetrum hermaphroditum. Below ground, CO2 enrichment did not stimulate fine root or mycorrhizal mycelium growth, but increased CO2 effluxes from the soil (+24%) indicated that enhanced C assimilation was partially offset by greater respiratory losses. The dissolved organic C (DOC) concentration in soil solutions was consistently higher under elevated CO2 (+14%), suggesting accelerated soil organic matter turnover. CO2 enrichment hardly affected the C-N balance in plants and soil, with unaltered soil total or mineral N concentrations and little impact on plant leaf N concentration or the stable N isotope ratio. Sustained differences in plant species growth responses suggest future shifts in species composition with atmospheric change. Consistently increased C fixation, soil respiration and DOC production over 9years of CO2 enrichment provide clear evidence for accelerated C cycling with no apparent consequences on the N cycle in this treeline ecosyste

Short-term responses of ecosystem carbon fluxes to experimental soil warming at the Swiss alpine treeline

Climatic warming will probably have particularly large impacts on carbon fluxes in high altitude and latitude ecosystems due to their great stocks of labile soil C and high temperature sensitivity. At the alpine treeline, we experimentally warmed undisturbed soils by 4K for one growing season with heating cables at the soil surface and measured the response of net C uptake by plants, of soil respiration, and of leaching of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Soil warming increased soil CO2 effluxes instantaneously and throughout the whole vegetation period (+45%; +120gCmy−1). In contrast, DOC leaching showed a negligible response of a 5% increase (NS). Annual C uptake of new shoots was not significantly affected by elevated soil temperatures, with a 17, 12, and 14% increase for larch, pine, and dwarf shrubs, respectively, resulting in an overall increase in net C uptake by plants of 20-40gCm−2y−1. The Q 10 of 3.0 measured for soil respiration did not change compared to a 3-year period before the warming treatment started, suggesting little impact of warming-induced lower soil moisture (−15% relative decrease) or increased soil C losses. The fraction of recent plant-derived C in soil respired CO2 from warmed soils was smaller than that from control soils (25 vs. 40% of total C respired), which implies that the warming-induced increase in soil CO2 efflux resulted mainly from mineralization of older SOM rather than from stimulated root respiration. In summary, one season of 4K soil warming, representative of hot years, led to C losses from the studied alpine treeline ecosystem by increasing SOM decomposition more than C gains through plant growt

A complex regional intervention to implement advance care planning in one town's nursing homes: Protocol of a controlled inter-regional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Advance Care Planning (ACP) is an emerging strategy to ensure that well-reflected, meaningful and clearly documented treatment preferences are available and respected when critical decisions about life-sustaining treatment need to be made for patients unable to consent. In Germany, recent legislation confirms that advance directives (AD) have to be followed if they apply to the medical situation, but implementation of ACP has not yet been described.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>In a longitudinal controlled study, we compare 1 intervention region (4 nursing homes [n/hs], altogether 421 residents) with 2 control regions (10 n/hs, altogether 985 residents). Inclusion went from 01.02.09 to 30.06.09, observation lasted until 30.06.10. Primary endpoint is the prevalence of ADs at follow-up, 17 (12) months after the first (last) possible inclusion. Secondary endpoints compare relevance and validity of ADs, process quality, the rate of life-sustaining interventions and, in deceased residents, location of death and intensity of treatment before death. The regional multifaceted intervention on the basis of the US program Respecting Choices^®comprises training of n/h staff as facilitators, training of General Practitioners, education of hospital and ambulance staff, and development of eligible tools, including Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment in case of Emergency (POLST-E).</p> <p><it>Participation data: </it>Of 1406 residents reported to live in the 14 n/hs plus an estimated turnover of 176 residents until the last possible inclusion date, 645 (41%) were willing to participate. Response rates were 38% in the intervention region and 42% in the control region. Non-responder analysis shows an equal distribution of sex and age but a bias towards dependency on nursing care in the responder group. <it>Outcome analysis </it>of this study will become available in the course of 2011.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Implementing an ACP program for the n/hs and related health care providers of a region requires a complex community intervention with the effect of nothing less than a cultural shift in this health care sector. This study is to our knowledge the first to develop a strategy for regional implementation of ACP, and to evaluate its feasibility in a controlled design.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ISRCTN: <a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN99887420">ISRCTN99887420</a></p