The central objective and task of child and youth welfare is to ensure the well-being of children and young people. The child and youth welfare statistics are based on the annual tabular reports from the federal provinces. The primary basis for the annual collection and publication of statistical data on child and youth welfare is the Federal Child and Youth Welfare Act 2013 (Bundes-Kinder- und Jugendhilfegesetz 2013). The statistical mandate of the federal law (Art. 15) refers to the following areas of activity and performance of child and youth welfare: social services, support for education, full education, risk assessments, help for young adults, domestic and cross-border adoptions and legal representation; it is stipulated that the numerical utilisation of these services (partly as the number of recipients, broken down by age and gender, partly as the number of services) and the financial outlay on public child and youth welfare (expenditure and income) are to be recorded.