# Inspectorate bans youth care provider Caterva from taking in new young people

> The health and youth care inspectorate has ordered Caterva, which houses young people aged 8 to 23 with complex needs, to fix serious failings in care and safety by 4 March 2027.

Society · published 2026-11-11 11:39 · https://nlnow.nl/a/inspectorate-bars-youth-care-firm-caterva-from-new-admissions/

The Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd (IGJ), the health and youth care inspectorate, has issued Caterva with a formal order (aanwijzing) and banned it from admitting new young people. The ban stays in place until Caterva meets the standards for good and safe youth care.

Caterva provides children's residential care across the country to young people aged 8 to 23 with complex care needs, the IGJ says. It has until 4 March 2027 at the latest to comply. The inspectorate says it has too little confidence that Caterva can improve on its own. It will monitor compliance closely and may take further measures if needed.

Inspectors made unannounced visits on 25 August and on 2 and 3 September 2026 to seven residential locations and the head office. According to the IGJ, they had also visited in 2020 and 2024, and had received several signals about risks to young people's safety.

## What inspectors found

The inspectorate found serious shortcomings in the quality and safety of care. It says Caterva uses restrictive measures with no legal basis, such as location tracking, locking front doors and checking rooms.

The IGJ also found that medicine management is unsafe, that Caterva does not deploy enough qualified supervisors suited to the young people's complex problems, and that it records and analyses incidents inadequately. In the inspectorate's assessment, Caterva does not offer a supportive environment or ensure a physically safe, homely setting, so young people do not get good and safe help.

## Background

- **IGJ (Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd)**: The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate is the Dutch government body that supervises healthcare and youth care providers, checking whether they meet legal standards for quality and safety. It works under the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and can take enforcement action, such as issuing orders, when a provider falls short.
- **aanwijzing**: A formal order is a binding instruction from a supervisory body, such as the IGJ, requiring an organisation to take specific measures within a set period. In healthcare and youth care, it is used when a provider does not meet the required standards, and failing to follow it can lead to further enforcement.

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