For the period 2018–2020, the state of Styria in southern Austria has set the target of developing municipal prevention chains along the educational biographies of children and adolescents in five communities. These communities are: Feldbach, Gratwein-Straßengel, Judenburg, Leibnitz and Weiz. Despite different starting conditions and social environments of children and adolescents, they should be able to grow up well, according to their abilities. On the basis of an integrated municipal overall strategy with objectives and measures, existing systems should be linked. As a starting point, a social area analysis is carried out to produce an overview of the living conditions of families to identify any existing gaps. An essential part of the initiative is to link existing offers in the areas of health, education, child, youth and social welfare, leisure, sport and culture for children, from pregnancy until the entry into a professional life.
For this networking and cooperation activity, the coordination offices were often implemented in the five participating communities, which ensures cooperation and networking, lobbying for the topic and acting as an information hub. The communities have a controlling role in their respective spheres of activity and contribute to the quality assurance of their adopted measures. During the project, they receive intensive support from the state of Styria, Department of Society. In addition, the initiative will be evaluated at the state and local level.