Vienna Spends Up to 603 Euros per Day on Care for a Single Asylum Seeker with Mental Health Issues
The Austrian capital, Vienna, is currently spending up to 603 euros per day, or approximately 18,000 euros per month, on the care of a single asylum seeker with mental health issues. This figure is significantly higher than in other Austrian states, such as Lower or Upper Austria, where the daily costs for unaccompanied minor refugees (UMF) amount to around 130 euros.
The high sum is justified by the organization Neue Wege, responsible for the care, due to the increased personnel costs. In challenging cases, up to two caregivers are required around the clock. Currently, this affects five youths, who are accommodated in special facilities. In other districts, a caregiver looks after multiple youths simultaneously.
Vienna is using the “Real Cost Model” a pilot project in cooperation with the federal government, to make costs transparent. Despite the high expenses, Vienna’s council member Peter Hacker (SPÖ) defends the practice, stating that similar expenses also occur in other Austrian states, but without the same transparency. He compares these costs to other public expenditures, such as a prison stay, which costs around 180 euros per day, or a hospital stay, which ranges from 200 to 300 euros daily.
The high costs for the care of unaccompanied minor refugees in Vienna raise questions, particularly in times of a growing budget deficit. Critics see the high sum as unreasonable, especially in comparison to other public expenditures. Whether the measures in Vienna will remain sustainable will likely remain a topic of discussion in the coming political debates.