News item | 5/17/2023 | 9:00 am
Client organizations (MIND and Elke(in)), professionals (Joint Professional Associations for Youth), providers (Branches Specialized Care for Youth), the municipalities (VNG) and the State have reached an agreement in principle on the content of the Youth Reform Agenda. The agreements on fundamental improvement of youth care are presented to their supporters with positive advice. This is what State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (VWS) and Minister Franc Weerwind (Legal Protection) wrote to the House of Representatives today. This is a big step towards faster and better help for children and families who need it.
Continue working together
State Secretary Van Ooijen: “Children and parents who need help and care, as well as all people who work in youth care, must start to notice these fundamental improvements in youth care as soon as possible. It is good news that all parties who have worked so hard on it are positive about the Youth Reform Agenda. This is beyond the non-commitment. We look forward to the consultation of the various constituencies so that we can continue to work together to realize all the improvements in daily practice.”
Minister Weerwind: “The Reform Agenda is also aimed at offering the most vulnerable children the help and support they need. By improving the availability of care and by reducing the administrative burden, appropriate help can be deployed more quickly. In this way, an out-of-home placement can also be prevented as much as possible. That is an important step forward for further improvement of youth protection.”
Intended changes
The Youth Reform Agenda contains a large package of measures to improve youth care and make it financially sustainable. Structural investments will be made in the national quality and effectiveness of youth care. There will also be an amendment to the Youth Act, which will make it clearer what children and parents can receive help for. Municipalities are obliged to purchase certain specialist care regionally in order to better organize the availability and continuity of care. Less paperwork and administration will be required, so that employees spend as little time as possible on this. Neighborhood teams will also be strengthened and better cooperation with, for example, education must ensure that children and young people are supported more with collective facilities. We want to prevent and reduce custodial placements as much as possible.
For the summer
The constituency consultation is planned for a period of one month. The Youth Reform Agenda will be finalized before the summer. This substantive agreement in principle between the organizations involved (see also the overview below) follows the financial agreements that the government and VNG reached last April, of which the providers, professionals and client organizations are not part. These agreements form the financial framework of the Reform Agenda.
Related organizations
- Client organisations: MIND and Elke(in)
- Professionals – Collaborating Professional Associations Youth: Netherlands Institute of Psychologists (NIP), Youth Doctors Netherlands (AJN), Dutch Association for Psychiatry (NVvP), Professional Association of Caregivers and Nurses Netherlands (V&VN), National Association of General Practitioners (LHV), Dutch Association for Paediatrics (NVK) ), Professional Association of Professionals in Social Work (BPSW), Dutch Association of Pedagogues and Educationalists (NVO), the Professional Association for Child and Youth Work (BVjong), National Association of Independent Psychologists & Psychotherapists (LVVP), Federation of Professional Therapeutic Professions (FVB)
- Providers – BGZJ: Youth Care Netherlands, the Dutch mental health care and VGN
- National Youth Council (NJR)
- Netherlands Youth Institute (NJi)
- Municipalities: Association of Dutch Municipalities
- Central government: Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and Ministry of Justice and Security.