Stadskanaal girl, 6, abused while youth protection was monitoring family

The severely and systematically abused 6-year-old girl from Stadskanaal spent four nights in the hospital with signs of neglect while she was under the supervision of the child protection agency William Schrikker Foundation (WSS). This is evident from answers to questions submitted to the Council for Child Protection (RvdK) and documents from the court.

On March 16, at the request of the RvdK, the juvenile judge ordered that the girl be placed under the supervision of the WWS immediately and at least until June 16 due to “serious concerns regarding development and well-being.”

It now appears that the girl was admitted to the hospital for four nights in April due to “medical complications that are difficult to explain.” Her mother, who is currently in custody, has stated that she abused the child, partly under pressure from a friend.

Earlier this week, the WSS deferred responsibility for the girl’s abuse while speaking to the newspaper AD. It said that it had only been involved in this case since March and that the Inspectorate was investigating the “organizations involved in this case for longer than we were.”

The girl was also hospitalized in early February. Then she had to be ventilated in the intensive care unit and placed in an artificial coma. Doctors described her condition as “severely ill, neglected, malnourished, and dehydrated.”

Following that first hospital admission, the mother and the girl stayed in a parent-child home for a while. There, the child refused to be cared for by her mother. She said that she wanted to live in the parent-child home permanently and asked parenting support workers if they would be her mother.

In early May, the juvenile court judge took emergency measures again, suspending the parents’ parental authority of the girl and removing the child from their home. The WSS still holds provisional guardianship over the child. A spokesperson for the child protection agency refused to comment on the matter, claiming that this is to protect the child’s privacy.

The WSS was also involved in caring for a 10-year-old girl in foster care in Vlaardingen. She was admitted to a hospital in 2024 with serious injuries after her foster parents severely abused her. Investigators concluded that care for the girl “fell short for a prolonged period and frequently.” This case resulted in the WSS being placed under supervision for a time.”