Market forces in youth care and transfer to municipalities have had negative consequences for children with serious problems. And this care is there especially for them. The transfer fees have also gotten out of hand.
In a letter to the House of Representatives, State Secretary Van Ooijen of Public Health draws conclusions from these far-reaching conclusions and therefore announces various interventions in the field of youth care. In effect, this means that part of the major youth aid operation of 2015 has been rolled back.
From now on, the care of children and young people with complex problems such as anorexia or severe depression will no longer be arranged by the municipality, but again at the national level. And measures to protect young people are transferred from municipalities to regional security teams. In municipalities, children are too often sent directly to the post or there is no money for good care.
poorly preserved words
“In general, the promise of decentralization (appropriate help, closer to home, family-wide, more efficient and cheaper) has not been sufficiently fulfilled,” writes Minister of Foreign Affairs Van Ooijen in his letter. The government recognizes that more money is being spent on care for young people than ever before, but the results do not show this.
Van Ooijen: “Young healthcare professionals are rightly concerned. They are very passionate people, each committed to helping children, young people and families every day. They often suffer from criticism of what is wrong, the context in which they work is mainly responsible.”
little money
Part of the lack of money for more intensive therapy and guidance is caused by the increasing number of children receiving ‘light’ care, for example because of learning or behavioral problems. One in eight young people up to the age of 18 receives some form of youth care. He was one of twenty-seven in 1997.
Van Ooijen says that the number of small, commercial healthcare providers making huge profits for light forms of care is growing exponentially. 1500 new ones added. Assignments are given almost automatically, regardless of the affordability and usefulness of treatments. Therapies sometimes go ahead without evaluating whether they are really needed.
In the coalition agreement, the cabinet stated that municipalities together would save 500 million euros in long-term youth care, in particular by abolishing ‘unnecessary’ care. The cabinet is now taking on this austerity task, as municipalities are protesting against this and saying that this is not possible under the current circumstances.
less market power
In practical terms, this means less market power: more efficient bidding at lower profits for commercial healthcare providers. The government is also considering introducing personal contributions for certain treatments. There may also be standards for the duration of treatment per type of treatment. The agency plans to unravel the details in the coming months.
In addition, there will be a sort of reassessment of what exactly youth care is and when parents and children can get help there, not for example from the school or the youth police.
The company also wants to improve working conditions and relieve the workload of educators and juvenile judges who have to deal with serious situations such as evictions. The closed youth care is also being reorganized. The operation will take months.
Source: NOS
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