Refugee Integration Policy and Public Administration in Berlin

Abstract

The report outlines the local refugee integration policy and its implementation by the public administration in Berlin. It starts by giving an overview of the political, administrative and social structures in the German capital, before presenting in more detail the responsibilities for refugee integration policy. A number of public bodies are involved in making and implementing integration policy, and tasks are shared between the city and the district levels of the city-state Berlin. Moreover, the content of integration policies is explained, focusing on the four research areas of the project: employment, education, vulnerable groups and social assistance. Berlin draws on a number of federal, state and local programs to support refugee integration, e.g. in terms of providing training, language tuition, health care services, accommodation and counselling. Many of these services are not provided directly, but by a broad variety of non-profit organizations. Some of them have been active in Berlin for years, whereas others have emerged in response to the increase in refugee migration in 2015/16. The city cooperates with these organizations in a number of ways, some of which will be researched in more detail in the upcoming case studies of the project.