Fewer Youths in Youth Care: State Secretary Tielen (Youth) Focuses on Help Close to the Family

State Secretary Tielen (Youth, Prevention and Sport): “The ambition is that by 2028, no longer one in seven, but a maximum of one in ten youths will use youth care. This requires a cultural shift where problems are solved as close as possible to youths and families, and specialist youth care is only used when truly necessary and can provide a solution. This way, youths receive appropriate help faster, municipalities gain more control, and youth care becomes more sustainable for the future.”

By addressing problems earlier, specialist youth care can often be prevented. Therefore, this help must be available near youths and their families. The bill stipulates that every municipality must have a local team where residents can easily turn to, for example at school or in the neighborhood. This team is the first point of contact for youths and families, for example for questions about upbringing, and can provide help and support itself. It is also being investigated how the position of these teams can be strengthened compared to other referrers when referring to youth care. This way, municipalities gain more control over inflow.

Contact with peers experiencing the same reduces loneliness, expands the network, and thus the support around youths. This has a positive effect. Therefore, it is legally established that group help has priority over individual help, unless individual help is demonstrably more effective or appropriate.

Moreover, youth care is still often offered while it does not address the (cause of the) problem and therefore does not help youths. The local team must look broadly at what exactly is going on and encourage parents to tackle underlying problems. The team works, where necessary, together with other domains, such as education and debt counseling.

The number of types of help offered has increased significantly in recent years. Therefore, clear choices are needed. It will be possible to legally establish which forms of help do not fall under the Youth Act, for example because they are not effective or even harmful. Agreements about the duration, intensity, and costs of additional youth care will also be mandatory.