Inspectorate finds many failings at foster agency responsible for Vlaardingen girl

There are considerable issues and shortcomings which put the safety of foster children at child care organization Enver, the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) said in a report on Wednesday. Enver was one of the organizations responsible for overseeing the guardianship of a young girl from Vlaardingen who was so severely abused by her foster parents that she will require intensive care for the rest of her life.

Now 11 years of age, the girl was hospitalized in May 2024 after lapsing into a coma following months of abuse in her foster home. When she was brought in for medical care, she was found to have brain damage, multiple fractures, and a body weight of just 20 kilograms due to repeated physical abuse and forced starvation. The girl was also allegedly locked in an electrified cage.

While investigating the case, the IGJ concluded that Enver failed in it's duties of protecting the girl. “The quality of the foster care that Enver is providing does not meet most of the requirements. Improvement is necessary in various aspects,” the inspectorate said on Wednesday. The IGJ is demanding solutions to these problems within nine months. The organization will be under sharp scrutiny during this time.

“The staff are involved and want to provide good foster care, but the work pressure is too high,” the IGJ stated. The organization, which is active in Rotterdam and the surrounding areas, does not currently have adequate overview “on the daily help given to the young people and foster parents.” The IGJ also claimed that the guidelines and protocols are not sufficiently followed.

The risks also arise due to the lack of systematic work on guaranteeing the foster children’s safety, the IGJ remarked. Enver’s rules state that foster families need to be screened before taking in foster children, but most of the files have no record of these screenings.

This makes it unclear to determine the risks for the foster children on an individual basis. In addition, no reports concerning re-screenings were found in the case files.

Foster care supervisors often have to visit families alone without the help of a colleague due to the work pressure at the organization. These visits were always announced and never spontaneous or unplanned.

It was also reported by the IGJ that it is “unclear” whether foster children are spoken to without the foster parents being present. This is an important step so that the children can speak freely. Advisory reports from behavioral scientists were also not seen in any of the files.

The inspectorate also looked into the staff files of contracted workers and self-employed workers. These files often did not have a Certificate of Conduct (VOG). There was also a lack of diplomas in the files of the self-employed workers. Enver assumed that the recruitment agencies arranged these things, the IGJ stated. Some of the company’s employees are not listed in the professional register. The inspectorate checks nine standards and says that Enver does not comply with eight of them.

Enver responded to the report, saying that they recognize the issues. “Foster children and their parents should be able to count on good care in a safe place.” The organization is currently responsible for the foster care of almost 1,300 foster children and over 900 foster families.

Enver has made a plan to improve the care they provide. This includes improvements to maintaining the files and more internal and external cooperation within the organization. “This shows a willingness to learn, take responsibility, and be open, transparent, and verifiable,” the inspectorate said.

The organization added that the IGJ has confidence in Enver’s capabilities to solve the issues and implement the improvements required.

However, the IGJ itself is still cautious. "The board has insufficient insight into processes within the organization", and that makes it "difficult to learn from experiences", according to the report.

The inspectorate is "positive about the content of the improvement plan", but at the same time wonders "whether the deadlines are feasible and realistic." This is because Enver has to implement many improvements at the same time. In addition, the culture within the organization has to change to ensure that the improvements are permanent.