Explanation of the acceptable terms in the Out-of-home placement guideline

Revised 'acceptable term' in the Out-of-home placement guideline

If children are removed from home, then according to Dutch law it must be decided for each child within an 'acceptable period' where the child will definitely grow up. This term is further elaborated in the Out-of-home placement guideline. In practice, the wording of the directive sometimes leads to unbalanced decision-making. The three owners of the guideline, the professional associations NIP, NVO and BPSW, and the Netherlands Youth Institute (NJi) delete the current passages in the new version of the guideline, in which the acceptable term is specified.

The revision of this guideline has been in progress since the autumn of 2021. In this review, new insights on the various factors that influence 'the acceptable time frame' will be prioritized. In the meantime, it is important for the application of the directive not to strictly observe the time limits specified in the directive. Joint, careful decision-making is essential, which does justice to the specific situation of the child and the family.

Do not use fixed terms

In the guideline (and substantiation, work cards and information for parents) in various places time limits are mentioned within which decisions about out-of-home placement or back placement should take place. These terms are indicative, i.e. intended as an example. They are not universally applicable. We note that youth professionals apply these terms too strictly in practice. We can imagine that the firm wording of the relevant passages in the directive could lead to a misinterpretation.

View the circumstances per child and per family

The 'acceptable term' is different for every child and every family. Youth professionals, together with children, young people, parents and other professionals, therefore have to make a complicated decision. This is about the question: Given his developmental stage, history and person, what is a term for this child that he can handle the uncertainty about where he will grow up without harming his development? Factors that play a part in this include the child's attachment to his current family, the child's attachment to the family of origin, the child's loyalty, the assistance used and the results thereof. These circumstances must be considered per family and cannot be expressed in a minimum or maximum duration of this term.

Advice

In short, in anticipation of a new version of the guideline, we advise youth professionals to make careful decisions in every situation and together with children, young people and parents. These are not decisions that you make alone as a professional, organize multidisciplinary consultations. In each concrete situation you must be able to substantiate what an acceptable term is on the basis of all facts and circumstances.

Professional Association of Professionals in Social Work

Netherlands Institute of Psychologists

Dutch Association of Pedagogues and Educationalists

Netherlands Youth Institute

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