‘Extreme human failure’ by Dutch youth care agencies in case of abused foster child
image: Trym Nilsen on Unsplash
Youth care agencies in the Netherlands failed completely to help an abused foster child according to a new investigation report. Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law, commented on Dutch news programme ‘Nieuwsuur’: ‘A case of extreme human failure.’
The investigation report (in Dutch) published by the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate and the Inspectorate of Justice and Security shows that youth care agencies responsible for the foster child’s welfare had totally failed her. ‘This is a case of extreme human failure’, says Professor Bruning. ‘The most shocking thing is that the system did not pick up on the failings while others looked on.’ According to the professor, it is incomprehensible that no action was taken even after reports from the police, the girl’s school and Veilig Thuis, the advisory and reporting centre for domestic violence or child abuse: ‘This girl was totally let down.’
Bruning says the responsibility lies not only with the youth care agencies, but also with the Dutch government: ‘The child rights and fundamental human rights of this child have been seriously violated. The court had ruled that a guardianship order was required. This girl was entitled to protection and the state is responsible for that.'