Kids placed in closed youth care institution still waiting for recognition, help

A government response to alleged abuses in the Netherlands’ most restrictive form of closed youth care is facing delays, particularly regarding apologies and aftercare for affected young people, officials and advocates said.

The issue centers on past treatment in ZIKOS units—short-term intensive observation and stabilization wards within closed youth care for children aged 12 to 18 with severe psychiatric conditions. Former residents and researchers allege that young people in these units were subjected to prolonged isolation in rooms, degrading treatment, and physical restraint. The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate later concluded that conditions were unsafe and placed the units under enhanced supervision before they were ultimately shut down.

A promised government recovery package, including a reserved 12 million-euro fund, has also not yet been fully implemented. Officials say the timeline for apologies and compensation measures is taking longer than expected.

Minister of Long-Term Care Mirjam Sterk (CDA) acknowledged delays in issuing formal apologies. “But they are coming, I understand the impatience. We want to do justice to what they have experienced,” she said in comments to Nieuwsuur. She added that the government has set aside funds for recovery and is still working with affected young people on the form and content of the apologies.

Sterk is expected to provide further details soon on timing, structure, and spending of the recovery funds. She said the measures “must not become a symbolic gesture, but part of a package of measures and activities that truly contribute to recovery for these young people.”

The renewed criticism stems from research by lived-experience expert Jason Bhugwandass, who first documented alleged mistreatment in a 2024 report based on interviews with 51 young people who had been placed in ZIKOS units. His latest report concludes that most recommendations from that earlier work have not been implemented and that many former residents are still waiting for recognition, aftercare, or financial support.

Bhugwandass, who himself stayed in a ZIKOS unit in 2015 while severely depressed and suicidal, said the new findings show a lack of meaningful follow-through. His report, titled “Eenzaam gestorven” (“Died Alone”), highlights continued concern from families and professionals.

He previously concluded that closure of the ZIKOS units is the only recommendation fully carried out. Other proposals, including structural aftercare and system-wide reform, remain unfulfilled, he said.

One mother, identified as Viola, said her daughter Tara was never able to recover from her experience in care. “In her head she was still there,” she said.

According to Bhugwandass, institutions have largely focused on internal reforms rather than direct engagement with affected youth. “What the young people involved all say when I ask what they need now is recognition,” he said.

Experts also see recognition as central to rebuilding trust. Levi van Dam, professor of resilient development, who reviewed the research, said authorities must first engage directly with former patients and issue apologies before broader recovery can occur.

Experts also cautioned that a direct causal link between treatment in ZIKOS units and later suicides or euthanasia has not been established. Peter Dijkshoorn, a former youth psychiatrist specializing in reducing coercion in youth care, said: “That link cannot be directly made. What is clear is that these young people were in worse condition after treatment than before.”

He added that many of the young people had experienced prior trauma and moved through multiple stages of the youth care system, often deteriorating along the way. “The system has made these children worse,” he said.

Dijkshoorn described ZIKOS units as the final stage in a broader care chain, warning that adequate specialist treatment and aftercare were still lacking. He said responsibility should be examined across the entire system, not only at the level of individual units.

Youth care providers iHub and Pactum acknowledged shortcomings in past practice. iHub said it had responded too slowly to concerns raised by young people and families. “We have done a lot, but we have responded too long mainly with measures. We should have paused earlier to consider what young people and parents were telling us,” the organization said, adding that apologies will be issued soon.

Pactum said it operates on a model that emphasizes youth autonomy, meaning former patients determine whether and how contact with the organization takes place. It also said it remains unclear where young people with similarly complex needs should be treated following the closure of ZIKOS units.

“A structural, nationwide alternative for this specific care need is lacking,” a spokesperson said. “In practice, we are working with customized solutions and temporary facilities. These do not always provide optimal quality of care, stability, and continuity.”