BACK HOME - Defense for Children

The challenge

Figures from Statistics Netherlands show that in 2019 more than 443,000 children received some form of youth care. Nearly 43,000 of these children received youth care with residence. More than 21,000 children have been taken in by a foster family (see the bottom of this page for an explanation). It is important to know that children are not simply placed out of the house. Before the out-of-home placement, less drastic help is first given to parents and their child. Only if this does not help enough, out-of-home placement becomes an option. In addition, where possible, efforts are made to return the child to his or her parents. These rights are enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Unfortunately, Defense for Children receives signals through the Children's Rights Helpdesk that out-of-home placement and return do not always go well.

What are we doing?

We investigate what goes well in the out-of-home placement of children and what could be improved. The aim of the project is to gain better insight into the practice of out-of-home placements. On the one hand, we want to get a grip on the good practices and, on the other hand, on the bottlenecks that stand in the way of preventing custodial placement and hinder relocation after custodial placement. Where necessary, we map out points for improvement and possible solutions.

During this project Defense for Children focuses on children aged 0 to 18 years who have been forcibly removed from their homes with the intervention of a juvenile court judge, on parents whose children have been removed from their homes and on professionals such as social workers and foster care workers.

To this end, we carry out the following activities:

Legal analysis of international and national laws and regulations.

Interview study among children and parents.

Survey among (youth) professionals.

The results of these activities are presented to a broad group of professionals during a reflection session and are published in a research report.

Results

The research results in a report with recommendations based on the legal analysis and good practices and points for improvement that have been shared with us.

Impact

More attention is being paid to the rights of children who have been removed from home. Identified bottlenecks, solutions and good examples are used in the lobby to argue for the reduction of out-of-home placements and the promotion of back placements.

Collaboration

Defense for Children is setting up a supervisory committee for the investigation and is collaborating with JongWijs, a network of young people and young adults with experience in a foster family, family home or youth care farm.

Financing

The project is financed by the Netherlands Children's Stamps Foundation.

About the numbers

The figures relate to children and young people from 0 to 23 years old.

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