National government, municipalities agree on youth care budget cuts

After months of negotiations, State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (Youth Care) and the association of Dutch municipalities have reached an agreement in principle on cutbacks and improvements in youth care. There will be cutbacks in the coming years, but less than the Cabinet wanted. Now that the financial impasse has been broken, all parties involved can work on more substantive agreements. The principle agreement will be submitted to all municipalities for approval.

Initially, the government wanted municipalities to cut 374 million euros on youth care this year, increasing to 463 million euros in 2024 and 570 million euros in 2025. On Monday evening, the Ministry of Public Health, Welfare, and Sports and VNG, the association of municipalities, agreed to cut 374 million euros in 2023, 2024, and 2025. That brings down the total amount of cutbacks scheduled over three years by 285 million euros.

Van Ooijen called it “hopeful that we now finally have an agreement on the main line of the financial agreements.” According to the State Secretary, the lower budget cuts for 2024 and 2025 will enable municipalities to improve youth care in complex social circumstances. “Reforms are needed to help vulnerable children and families faster and better.”

That plan for systematic reforms was supposed to have been in place in January 2022, including agreements on improvements and cost savings in youth care. Negotiations on reforms in the youth care system broke down at the end of last year due to the lack of sufficient guarantees from the national government to municipalities should the shortfalls in youth care persist.

The VNG concluded the agreement, but with reservations. Its members, which are the municipalities of the Netherlands, still have to agree to it. The agreement will be presented at the VNG members' meeting in mid-June.

In addition, municipalities want to get certainty as soon as possible about "sufficient structural financial resources for youth care from 2026,” said Helmond Alderman Cathalijne Dortmans, who conducted the negotiations with the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport on behalf of the VNG.

Dortmans said she is satisfied that the cutbacks for the coming years have been eased. "It's been a tough process, but we did this for our youth." In 2026, municipalities must cut back on youth care by €961 million.

There will be a committee of experts involved in the process. In 2025, it will examine whether the budgeted cuts are feasible. If that is not the case, it will provide advice on how municipalities and the national government should deal with this.