Supervisor: youth care access under pressure

Youth care is in a worse position than last year. This is the conclusion of the Youth Authority in a new report. This puts pressure on the continuity of youth care and makes care less accessible for young people, the supervisor says.

Since 2015, municipalities have been responsible for youth care. This varies from help with parenting problems or dyslexia to complex care for severe mental health problems or out-of-home placements. Cities receive money for this from the government, but often have to deal with cuts.

That’s why the department created an improvement package for youth care last year, the so-called Reform Schedule. This includes plans to make youth care more effective. The government hopes that these plans will allow them to save 500 million euros on youth care by 2025.

The report states that approximately 30 percent of health care providers are currently suffering from serious financial problems. The costs of youth care are rising dramatically, and the use of youth care is barely increasing. The largest childcare providers also suffer from high sickness absence, staff are often recruited from outside and rates do not rise in line with inflation and wage increases , putting them under pressure.

These problems were known before. According to the director of the Youth Authority, Kees van Nieuwamrongen, much has already been done to improve youth care, but “there is a lack of cooperation between the government, the municipality and providers”, which means that the changes take a long time and lack of efficiency.

According to the Youth Authority, it is still true that “municipalities and providers often reinvent the wheel alone.” Therefore the government, municipalities and health care providers must work together better to ensure continuity to maintain youth care, Van Nieuwamrongen believes.

But he also sees positive developments arising from the Reform Agenda. “The department is not standing still. Cities already have more healthcare expertise and better communication between cities and healthcare providers. “

According to him, the Reform Agenda offers starting points for improving the system and ensuring continuity. In addition, the youth care department can learn from other care departments in the area of ​​business activity and provide appropriate care, says the Youth Authority.

The Dutch Youth Care Trade Association recognizes the concerns of the Youth Authority and believes that improving care starts with working on the resilience of families and children. “That requires a clear vision and the courage to think differently,” said board member Eddy de Bruin.

Like the Youth Authority, he believes it is important that the department takes a close look at itself. “Of course there is a world to be gained in the professionalism of the sector.” According to De Bruin, all parties involved must be responsible. “This way we can sustainably improve care for children and families in the Netherlands .”