Foster parents who are guilty of a crime will no longer be able to house foster children

Foster parents who are guilty of severe assault, neglect, or sexual abuse will never be allowed to take in foster children again. The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, wants foster organizations to monitor foster parents more strictly and always check the progress of previous placements of foster children.Another measure will be that police will be given clearance to conduct a house visit when there is a serious suspicion of an unsafe situation for the child. In addition, all foster children will have access to a confidant. This should already be the case in accordance with the youth law, but it rarely happens in reality.

The Tweede Kamer approved over 20 motions by various parties to improve the protection of vulnerable foster children with regards to offenses from the family they have placed in. Most requests that the parties handed in to the Cabinet are to improve the current procedures in the foster care sector. The Cabinet said last week during a debate that they plan to increase and intensify the controls of foster parents.

These measures come as a result of the lengthy assault of a foster girl in Vlaardingen. The girl, who was ten years old at the time, was assaulted so severely that she will need care for the rest of her life. Other foster children had been placed in the same family, they were also assaulted and taken away from the family.

The foster parents are suspected of severe assault and attempted murder. The girl was brought to the police after she reported the abuse in a supermarket, but the officers then brought the child back after William Schrikker Stichting had said that she could return to the family. Police officers were told that the girl had made up similar stories before.

The Tweede Kamer have added that they want children’s stories to be taken more seriously. Professionals need to be trained better in this. Control visits will also take place, in which a foster child is always spoken to individually.

Improvements also need to be made regarding unsafe situations with a family need to be gathered and shared with the relevant authorities. Foster parents should also be obligated to follow educational courses, the Tweede Kamer thinks. This was something that was rejected by Vlaardingen's foster parents.

The government must also improve the youth protection system because the government is responsible for a child who is placed outside the home.