Shocking grievances: unaccompanied refugee children in danger!

Shocking grievances: unaccompanied refugee children in danger!

The situation of unaccompanied minor asylum seekers in the Netherlands is worrying. According to Deputtenaer , these young people urgently need improved support from the guardianship organization NIDOS. A recently published study by the inspection for health care and youth (IGJ) has determined serious defects in the care.

nidos, the organization responsible for the guardianship about minor asylum seekers without parents, has difficulty lives up to the needs of the over 9,000 young people supervised. This number has increased three times compared to 2021, and the IGJ reports that 11,000 young refugees were even taken care of at the end of last year. The IGJ criticizes that Nidos is not sufficiently able to assess the risks for the young people and take the necessary measures for their security.

criticism of the procedure and support

A central result of the IGJ examination is the inadequate file management and the lack of targeted work of the youth workers. In many cases, the IGJ notes that in many cases the unaccompanied minor refugees does not meet the standards. The foster families to which the young people are accommodated must be monitored. However, there are reports that children were placed in households in which problems were already known, which further endangered the safety of young people.

The difficulties began in the course of a Zembla program from Bnnnvara, which revealed terrifying grievances in care. According to nos it often happens that minor refugees are not adequately taken care of with food or even suddenly thrown out of their care families. There were also reports of ill -treatment in foster families, which caused the IGJ to initiate a comprehensive examination.

urgent need for action

The IGJ makes it clear that the collaboration between Nidos and other auxiliary providers is in need of improvement. These problems are not new: In the past three years, over 50,000 minor refugees have disappeared in Europe, including 360 in 2023 alone in the Netherlands. Experts urgently demand measures to improve the security situation and the care of unaccompanied refugee children.

The establishment of a new accommodation in Ermelo, in the former parish apartment of the Goede Herder Church, is to take into account the increasing need. Here NIDOS will also take over the guardianship to improve the situation of the minor status owners. Nevertheless, many critics remain skeptical whether these measures are sufficient to prevent the impending failure of the current systems.

nidos has recognized that there is a need for improvement and plans to carry out additional examinations in order to evaluate the experience of young people in foster families. In view of the critical situation, both NIDOs and the responsible authorities have to act quickly to ensure the security and well -being of this vulnerable group.