Youth protection agency removes boy from Den Haag-area children's home

A court has heard how a boy was mistreated at a children's home in the Den Haag region. Jeugdbescherming West Haaglanden, the regional youth protection agency, took him out of the home in September because of the mistreatment. He has been returned to his mother.

At a hearing this week, the judge noted that the boy had been "belittled and punished".

In her decision, the judge said she was "dumbfounded" by the warning signs coming from "children in the most vulnerable situation".

Earlier cases this year

An earlier case in the north of the Netherlands also became public through a court ruling. There a judge set out in detail how children were seriously abused and neglected for years: they were hit, made to do child labour and bitten by a dog. This year the health and youth inspectorate (Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd) concluded that too little had been done to protect those children.

In Drenthe, two girls were removed from a gezinshuis, a small children's home, this year because of "serious concerns" about their safety. The inspectorate also ruled this year that action is needed in Hoenderloo, where several children's care providers house children.