Child protection
The Netherlands has an extensive system of child protection in place. This system is carried out by the Child Protection Council. The responsibility for the council lies with the Ministry of Justice. It has three main tasks: to provide protection, to arrange child access and other matters following parental divorce, and to oversee the course of criminal proceedings involving minors. Upon receiving a referral, the council will determine whether the child’s development is indeed at risk, and if so, to what extent. The council will then advise the juvenile courts, which can impose a child protection order on the parents, impose a supervision order, or overrule the normal parental authority. A supervision order restricts the parents’ authority, part of which is then assumed by an official guardian. When the parental authority is removed outright, a guardian is appointed.
The number of child protection orders has increased over the last years and the expectation is that this increase will continue. The reasons for this are more social attention for child abuse and domestic violence. The previous government has launched the Better Protection programme which will be continued by the Ministry for Youth and Families. This programme is aimed at improving the child protection system. For example, it introduces the Delta method of family supervision, which decreases the caseload of family guardians. It will also speed up the decision-making process of child protection orders.
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