Cabinet wants tighter monitoring of foster parents after severe Vlaardingen abuse case

The State Secretary for Youth and Prevention, Vincent Karremans, has said that he wants screening of foster parents to be more regular and stricter, he stated in a debate in the Tweede Kamer about the seriously abused foster girl in Vlaardingen. Karremans and fellow state secretary Teun Struycken spoke to the girl’s biological mother and seemed visibly shaken when discussing the matter in the lower house of Dutch parliament.

Karremans is pushing for continuous controls of whether foster parents have a criminal record and wants previous findings as foster parents also to be taken into account. The VVD party member added that he feels there should be checks from time to time to see whether foster parents are still suitable.

Struycken seemed visibly upset by the meeting that the two state secretaries had with the abused girl’s mother. “That was, one second, an emotional meeting for us both,” Struycken said during the parliamentary debate about the issue.

The woman had already signaled that she felt her child was being abused, but her concerns were not heard. She is happy that she is now believed and that her suffering is recognized, a spokesperson said.

Struycken said that he sees the importance of "sitting across from someone, creating calm and giving the person the feeling of being heard. Because that shows what is lacking and it often concerns vulnerable people," he said, also referring to the people in the benefits scandal who got caught up in the system. "They were not listened to and weren't believed, and that may be even worse."

The two state secretaries also spoke with the biological mother of the three boys, who also spent some time in the same Vlaardingen foster family and were subjected to abuse. The father of the Syrian family is no longer in the picture. The people involved have a residence permit.

Organizations responsible for youth protection and foster care admitted to severe failures in the case of a 10-year-old girl from Vlaardingen, who suffered extreme abuse at the hands of her foster parents. The child remains in intensive care, permanently dependent on medical support, while authorities investigate extensive failures within the system.

During a meeting with the Tweede Kamer, representatives from the William Schrikker Stichting (WSS), foster care organization Enver, and reporting center Veilig Thuis acknowledged that they did not act decisively despite multiple warnings. "Horrific, heartbreaking, completely unacceptable, and a grave dereliction of duty," said representatives from the agencies as lawmakers pressed them on how such severe neglect could occur. MPs cited at least 23 critical moments when intervention should have taken place but did not, leading to catastrophic consequences.

The child suffered months of abuse in her foster home, including physical assaults, starvation, and being locked in an electrified cage. Her condition deteriorated so severely that when she was finally hospitalized in May 2024, she was comatose, severely malnourished, and weighed only 20 kilograms. Brain damage and multiple fractures have left her in need of lifelong intensive care.

One of the most alarming failures involved a video showing the girl repeatedly hitting her head on the floor. A behavioral scientist at WSS saw the footage and reported it to Enver via email. However, Enver never responded. "Incomprehensible," said a CDA lawmaker, questioning why no immediate action was taken.

Esther Reinhard of Enver admitted that the email may have been lost during a transition between caseworkers. "This is no excuse. It should never have happened. The lack of oversight on the responsible youth protector is unacceptable. The mandatory reporting protocol was not followed, and no behavioral scientist was consulted."

The girl’s foster parents, Johnny van den B. and Daisy W., both 38, were arrested after her hospitalization. The investigation has since revealed that they allegedly abused three other children in their care: two boys and the girl’s half-sister.

The boys, aged 11 and 5 at the time, were reportedly subjected to severe beatings, forced to sleep in a dog kennel, burned with cigarette butts, and deprived of food. The abuse occurred between July and September 2021. A psychologist who had treated one of the boys later provided video evidence in which the child described the abuse in detail.

The girl’s half-sister, aged 2 and 3 during the period of abuse from March 2022 to December 2023, was also reportedly assaulted. The OM (Public Prosecution Service) stated that the foster parents kicked her, forced her to stand in a bucket filled with her own excrement, and shaved her head as punishment.

A damning report by the Dutch Health Care Inspectorate (IGJ) and the Inspectorate of Justice and Security (IJV) detailed a six-month period during which the girl was left without proper supervision. Despite multiple cries for help, agencies failed to act. The report confirmed that WSS and Enver ignored warning signs and failed to monitor the girl’s safety.

The child’s caseworker, identified only as "Rob," played a pivotal role in the system's failure. Instead of protecting the girl, he reportedly developed a personal relationship with the foster parents, dismissing reports of abuse. When the girl’s biological mother repeatedly voiced concerns, she was ignored. "Although I can’t get my daughter back, reading the report relieves me somewhat. It is now clear in black and white that I was right to be deeply worried about my daughter’s safety," she said in a statement.

Authorities had previous knowledge of abuse within the foster home. In 2021, Enver placed three Syrian brothers with the same foster parents. Reports surfaced of severe mistreatment, including starvation and confinement in a dog cage. The police urged youth protection agency Nidos to press charges, but no legal action was taken. Six months later, despite these reports, "Rob" approved the placement of the 10-year-old girl and her sister in the same home.

The girl made multiple attempts to seek help. In December 2024, she confided in a supermarket employee that she was being abused. The police were alerted and documented visible injuries but determined there was insufficient evidence to intervene. Around the same time, she told school staff that she was being forced to stand outside naked in winter as punishment. Instead of reporting this, the school consulted her foster mother and sent her back home.

In a separate incident, the girl pleaded with strangers at a shopping mall to help her. Again, she was returned to her foster family without further investigation.

The Public Prosecution Service has charged the foster parents with attempted manslaughter, severe assault, unlawful deprivation of liberty, and causing grievous bodily harm. The case is scheduled for a full hearing on November 6 and 7, with an additional court date set for November 11. A preparatory hearing is scheduled for May 7.

Meanwhile, WSS and Enver have been placed under intensified oversight to ensure that proposed improvements are implemented. WSS had already been under scrutiny since 2020, but despite previous interventions, the agency failed to prevent further tragedies. "We have improved internal processes and doubled the number of behavioral scientists," said Pim Croiset van Uchelen of WSS. "But it wasn’t enough. We must do more."

The girl’s biological mother and the families of the other abused children remain outraged. "It is unbearable to know that if the reports of abuse had been taken seriously in 2021, my daughter might have been spared this nightmare," the mother’s advocate said.