Obligation of the Home Canton to Reimburse Subsequent Social Assistance Debts

Facts

The case concerns a Swiss citizen born on December 11, 2000, with citizenship rights in the cantons of Zurich and Aargau. She lived in the canton of Zurich until August 31, 2006, and then moved with her mother to the canton of Schaffhausen. Due to a notification of endangerment, she was permanently placed in a foster family as of November 1, 2007. Since the mother was unable to fully pay the care costs, the Schaffhausen social assistance authority took over the debts accrued since November 1, 2007, on November 26, 2008. The canton of Schaffhausen demanded reimbursement of these costs from the home canton of Zurich.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court decided that the home canton of Zurich is obliged to reimburse the care costs subsequently taken over by the canton of Schaffhausen until August 31, 2008. The decisive factor is the time of need and not the time of the support decision. Since the mother's need was established as of November 1, 2007, the home canton must reimburse the costs incurred during this period, even though the decision to take over the debts was made after the two-year deadline under Art. 16 ZUG.