Abstract
Single parents and their children benefit particularly from early childhood education and childcare programmes. Nevertheless, almost a third of single parents in Germany who need childcare for their children under the age of three are unable to find it. Although around 70 % of day care providers claim to take the single-parent criterion into account when allocating slots, the prevailing allocation procedures cannot guarantee that this is implemented. This article shows how transparent allocation criteria can be designed nationwide and how their implementation can be realised through suitable, centralised, municipal allocation systems. Particularly in (western) German regions with a high unmet demand for institutional childcare, single-parent status should be considered as an independent criterion in addition to other factors such as employment and child age.