Largest parties completely disagree on how to address issues in youth care

While GroenLinks-PvdA and the VVD want to continue with the improvement plans for youth care, the NSC of Pieter Omtzigt instead wants to review "fundamental aspects" of the youth care system. This puts the NSC in direct opposition to the two other parties. The three are tied in the polls and are competing to become the largest party on November 22.

Youth care has been a problematic issue for years in the Netherlands, particularly in the political sphere in The Hague. The demand for youth care is ever-increasing, waitlists are long, and often there is no suitable help for the most vulnerable youths.

Municipalities, responsible for implementing the Youth Act (Jeugdwet) since 2015, quickly faced financial difficulties because they could not manage with the budget provided by the government. Inspectors, children’s judges, and caregivers have been expressing their grave concerns about the dire situation in youth care for years.

To turn the tide, the national government, municipalities, care providers, and healthcare workers started planning improvements and savings in youth care, which were to culminate in the so-called youth reform agenda (hervormingsagenda jeugd). After much debate, they reached an agreement in the spring. This agenda was supposed to be in place by early 2022.

GroenLinks-PvdA now mainly wants to speed up the implementation of these plans, and the VVD wants to continue them, as stated in their election programs. However, the NSC wants answers to questions about who is responsible for what, what powers are needed, and how youth care is funded.

With these fundamental questions about the youth care system, the NSC follows the criticism of the Council of State and the Netherlands Court of Audit. According to the Netherlands Court of Audit, the responsible ministers wrongly assume that the reform agenda will solve all the major and pressing problems in youth care. The Council of State said in April that the government must make choices to keep the system (including financially) sustainable.

All three parties agree that the number of out-of-home placements should be minimized. GroenLinks-PvdA believes that a child should only be removed from home "in the extreme case that the child cannot remain living at home safely and/or healthily." The VVD emphasizes better discussions between parties involved in an out-of-home placement. The NSC prioritizes legally establishing what a "child under a youth protection measure is minimally entitled to."