Listen when children ask for help, pleas severely abused foster girl's mom
Listen to a child if they ask for help. That is the plea of the biological mother of a Vlaardingen girl who was abused to the point that she ended up in a coma at age 10. Her foster parents are accused of aggravated abuse. They are also accused of abusing three other children in their care. The trial against them starts on Thursday.
The then-10-year-old girl was admitted to the hospital in critical condition during the early hours of 21 May 2024. She suffered a severe brain injury and multiple fractures. Her foster parents, Johnny van den B. and Daisy W., were arrested that same week and have been in custody since.
The child’s mother spoke to RTL Nieuws and the Telegraaf before the hearing, the first time she has spoken to the media. She recalled seeing her eldest daughter in the hospital after not seeing her for some time. “If I hadn’t known she was my child, I wouldn’t have recognized her,” she said. “She couldn’t do anything; she just lay there. Her eyes were going everywhere. She couldn’t talk, couldn’t move. Nothing.”
Over 18 months later, the girl is still not doing well. She will need specialized care for the rest of her life. “She can’t shower, eat, dress, or walk on her own,” her biological mother said. “She doesn’t speak well. It sounds like baby talk. But she sometimes sings nursery rhymes. She does it at her own pace.” She used to be a cheerful girl. “She always had a twinkle in her eye.”
Both of the woman’s daughters were placed out of her home in 2021 because she couldn’t properly care for them. “I made the wrong choices.” She hoped that they would be placed somewhere safe. They were placed with Johnny van den B. and Daisy W. in March 2022, and their mother quickly realized that all was not well. She raised the alarm several times, including asking where her child’s scars came from. A school photo showing the girl with a shaved head brought tears to her eyes, she said. “She loved her hair. And suddenly it went from long to short, to bald.”
The girl herself also tried to get help, approaching the police, people at school, and even strangers at the store. And still the agencies responsible for her children - the William Schrikker Foundation and Enver - did not intervene.
The woman hopes that talking about her daughter will make youth care workers more willing to listen to the children under their supervision. “A child doesn’t just say things,” she said. “Just listen.”
Her daughter now lives in a family medical home, where she receives 24-hour care. “With kind people,” Sophie says. “She deserves peace.” Her little sister is back at home. But it is unclear whether the two sisters will ever live under the same roof again. "She needs care that I can't provide. So yes, I hope so, but whether it's realistic, I don't know."
In January, the Inspectorates for Healthcare and Youth and Justice and Security concluded that the system completely failed this child. The foster care agencies involved also acknowledged that they failed to adequately care for the girl, commenting to RTL after the mother’s interview.
“Our organization had the responsibility to ensure this girl’s safety. We failed to do so. We deeply regret this, and we have expressed this to her mother by offering our apologies,” the William Schrikker Foundation said.
“This should never have happened,” Enver said. “That a child we should have protected was treated cruelly is heartbreaking.”
