The cabinet wants to introduce a personal contribution for youth care. Such a personal contribution was previously criticized by a large part of the House of Representatives and youth care itself. Left-wing opposition parties want to take the plan off the table again.
Suddenly it appeared in the spring memorandum: the personal contribution for youth care. After negotiations on the adjusted budget, the cabinet announced that up to 3 billion euros extra will be allocated to youth care in the coming years. But at the same time, the controversial measure was put back on the political drawing board.
Because parties from youth care and mental health care have often warned about the personal contribution, which would increase the threshold to receive youth care. It is precisely the vulnerable families who need care the most who would be affected.
The cabinet does not want everyone to pay a personal contribution, but is still investigating for which care and income that should apply. Ultimately, the cabinet hopes that the personal contribution will yield around 260 million euros.
The proposal led to surprise in the House of Representatives and the youth care field. The previous cabinet, Rutte IV, had already started working on the measure, but passed the final decision on to its successor.
Cabinet does not want to affect vulnerable families
The Rutte IV cabinet not only heard from youth care that it was a bad plan, but also from the opposition. A motion by GL-PvdA Member of Parliament Lisa Westerveld in 2022 to abolish the personal contribution received support from the entire opposition, including PVV, BBB and Pieter Omtzigt, then an independent Member of Parliament.
Nevertheless, then State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (VWS) worked out the plan for a personal contribution as part of a package of austerity measures. But Van Ooijen called “each of those options” in an interview on NPO Radio 1 that same day “irresponsible for the most vulnerable children in the Netherlands”. But a final decision was not up to a demissionary cabinet, Van Ooijen said.
The personal contribution then disappeared from the political playing field, but reappeared this year – after the negotiations on the spring memorandum – in the budget. State Secretary Vincent Karremans emphasized to a concerned House of Representatives last week that it concerns a limited personal contribution for some forms of youth care.
The cabinet does want fewer children to use youth care, but it is certainly not the intention that vulnerable families will avoid care, according to Karremans.
Left-Wing Opposition Wants to Abolish Personal Contribution
Part of the opposition is not reassured and wants to halt the plan now. On Thursday, GL-PvdA, SP, PvdD and Volt will submit a motion calling on the cabinet to abolish the personal contribution again.
GL-PvdA Member of Parliament Lisa Westerveld points in the motion, just as in 2022, to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This obliges the Netherlands not to deny any child access to necessary care. A personal contribution would be in conflict with this.
In addition to the question of how you are going to determine who has to pay a personal contribution and who does not, the Central Administration Office (CAK) announced last year that it saw no possibility of implementing the collection of a personal contribution in youth care.
Moreover, the intention causes unrest among parents, children and youth care organizations, Westerveld sees. “And that is the last thing you want in youth care.”
Support for Motion Still Uncertain
It is still uncertain whether the motion can count on a majority. This also requires support from the coalition parties, but they themselves negotiated the spring memorandum and therefore also the planned personal contribution in youth care.
From NSC there is open doubt about the measure. Member of Parliament Faith Bruyning said during the debate last week that she was “not in favor” of a personal contribution in youth care. NSC says it is “investigating various options to find a solution within the financial space”. The party is still “considering” the motion.
The House of Representatives will vote on the motion on Tuesday.