Another report of foster system abuse: Five kids removed from Zuid-Holland family home
The police urgently removed five children from a family home in Zuid-Holland last month after a report of possible abuse, the Volkskrant reported, based on an anonymous tip that was confirmed by the agencies involved.
The newspaper had no details about what the unsafe situation entailed, only that the police treated it as an urgent response.
Family homes house children in the foster system who cannot live with a regular foster family for various reasons. The most common reason is severe behavioral problems. Family homes usually house four to six children, and caring for the children is the foster parents’ full-time job.
According to the Volkskrant, the family home involved falls under the Driestroom care organization. The Youth and Health Care Inspectorate is investigating, Driestoom told the newspaper. A spokesperson for the Inspectorate confirmed to NOS that it is aware of the report, but would not comment further.
The safety of children in the foster system is under extra scrutiny after the severe abuse of a 10-year-old girl in Vlaardingen. The child was admitted to a hospital on 21 May 2024 with a severe brain injury, five broken ribs, and five fractured vertebrae. She had scars all over her body. She was in a coma for weeks. The girl suffered brain damage and now functions at the level of a toddler.
Her foster parents were recently sentenced to 8 years in prison for abusing the girl and three other foster children - the girl’s younger sister and two young brothers from Syria. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) appealed, seeking harsher punishment.
In another recent case, two children, aged 9 and 10, were removed from a family home in Niekerk, Groningen, also because of severe abuse. Their foster parents beat them, pulled them by the ears, and allowed the family dog to bite them. They were also forced to work on the farm.
