King’s Commissioner Jetta Klijnsma wants more flexibility in the care of unaccompanied minor aliens. She writes this in a letter to asylum minister Marjolein Faber (PVV).
Drenthe municipalities who are willing to absorb these foreigners must have room for at least fifty young people at a location. This is currently the policy of the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). Suitable reception locations are discussed with the COA.
In addition to being a commissioner, Klijnsma is also chairman of the Provincial Directory Table Drenthe. In this, Drenthe municipalities, the COA and the Ministry come together. In the letter to Faber, Klijnsma writes in this role that residents are concerned about ‘the impact of such a relatively large group of young people on the quality of life, social safety and the available facilities’. This applies in particular in small villages.
For the unaccompanied minor foreigners, a smaller -scale daycare would also contribute to better integration, says Klijnsma, because they then receive more individual attention.
The COA has already announced that they are happy to meet Klijnsma’s wishes. However, this requires more staff and that is a problem in the current labor market. More importantly: the costs would become too high.
So there must be more money from the government, the parties involved think. “The municipalities have indicated that, where necessary and desirable, smaller shelter should really be possible – and therefore emphatically insist on that,” says Klijnsma.
Faber has not yet responded to the letter.