Morticia, best wishes from a german social worker. I know exactly what you mean. Money is growing shorter and shorter to the limit of closing down environments and further. The city department a**holes are less than help. and everyday you look at your kids and think "hey, why do I do this crap, it seems fruitless anyway..."

On of my worst days was when we came out of the weekend to find out someone had broken into the house saturday night. police had arrested him still inside, he had been drunk and robbed about DM 60.- after smashing a window. Later I learned who did it... a former member of a notorious youth burglar trio sent to us by court. For ten years he hadn'd committed anything, and in the meanwhile he had become a helping hand in the house. He was the one and only youth in our house I ever had thought to be "cured" from his career as a criminal.