Cabinet drops plan for night-time room confinement
Young people in secure youth care will not, for now, be locked in their rooms at night under a new law.
The cabinet has abandoned a legislative amendment that would have allowed night-time room confinement in secure youth care. The measure faced criticism from young people, children’s rights organisations and MPs.
The plan concerned young people in secure youth care who, according to the cabinet, could in exceptional situations pose a danger to themselves, fellow residents or staff at night. Institutions would then have been able to confine them temporarily to their own rooms. Under the current rules, this is not permitted. The cabinet has now decided not to proceed with the proposed legislative amendment.
The discussion is taking place against the backdrop of the phasing out of JeugdzorgPlus. Since 2022, central government, municipalities and providers have been working towards fewer secure placements, with the aim of coming as close to zero as possible by 2030. The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate writes that the number of young people receiving this form of support is falling rapidly, but that suitable open alternatives are not yet available everywhere.
The inspectorate previously warned that restrictive measures are still being used too often. In the second half of 2025, institutions recorded 4,390 measures involving 429 young people. The inspectorate stresses that these figures are not yet fully reliable, partly because institutions do not record cases in the same way everywhere. Confinement to a room, restricting communication devices and holding young people were among the most frequently recorded measures.
The new decision does not mean that all forms of restriction of liberty will disappear. In secure youth care, measures may still be used under strict conditions if they are necessary for treatment or safety. Since 2024, the guiding principle has been ‘no, unless’: a measure must be necessary, proportionate and as effective as possible, and no less restrictive alternative may be available.
A practical problem therefore remains for institutions. They keep young people with serious and often complex problems within a secure setting, while the law and policy prescribe less use of coercion. The inspectorate says that repeated use of restrictions on liberty should prompt an assessment of whether the care being provided is still appropriate.
The cabinet will therefore not create a new statutory route for routine night-time room confinement. Exactly what should happen to young people for whom institutions nevertheless anticipate acute safety problems requires alternatives within the existing law. Providers, municipalities, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and supervisory bodies remain responsible for this.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The cabinet is not proceeding with the proposed statutory power for night-time room confinement.
- Restrictive measures are still permitted under certain conditions in secure youth care.
- JeugdzorgPlus is being phased out, but suitable alternatives are not yet available everywhere.
Left
Arguments The state must prevent children who have not been convicted of a criminal offence from once again being systematically deprived of their liberty. Safety problems require more staff, small-scale facilities and appropriate treatment, not a statutory expansion of confinement.
Values Children’s rights, human dignity, restorative care and limiting coercion.
Consequences This may mean greater pressure and higher costs for institutions, but according to this approach it reduces the risk of trauma and the normalisation of confinement.
Centre
Arguments The safety of young people and staff must be combined with the most limited possible use of coercion. The institutional approach is therefore: no general power, but clear emergency procedures, oversight and investment in alternative care.
Values Legal certainty, practicality, proportionality and protection of everyone involved.
Consequences Institutions retain room to act in acute situations, while structural room confinement becomes more difficult legally and administratively.
Right
Arguments An institution must be able to intervene when one young person seriously threatens the safety of others. Removing the statutory possibility could leave professionals powerless and shift the risks onto fellow residents and staff.
Values Public order, responsibility, protecting victims and authority.
Consequences A limited statutory power could improve day-to-day safety, but this approach says it would require strict conditions and review to prevent abuse.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The key facts can be found directly in reports by NOS and the IGJ. The text clearly distinguishes between existing restrictions on liberty, the withdrawn legislative plan and uncertain registration data.
- confirmed The cabinet is abandoning a legislative amendment for night-time room confinement in secure youth care. — Reported by NOS. source
- confirmed The phasing out of JeugdzorgPlus is intended to bring the number of secure placements as close to zero as possible by 2030. — Mentioned by the IGJ. source
- confirmed In the second half of 2025, 4,390 measures involving 429 young people were recorded. — IGJ figures, with the caveat that data quality is not yet fully reliable. source
- confirmed Since 2024, the guiding principle for restrictive measures has been ‘no, unless’. — Described by the IGJ in its explanation of the Youth Act. source
Editor's note
It is certain that the cabinet has abandoned the proposed legislative amendment and that the inspectorate continues to report concerns about restrictions on liberty. According to the IGJ, the registration figures are not yet fully reliable; no new statutory regulation was used as the factual basis for this article.Sources
- Kabinet ziet af van ’s nachts opsluiten jongeren in gesloten jeugdzorg — NOS
- Ombouw JeugdzorgPlus — Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd
- Cijfers vrijheidsbeperkende maatregelen gesloten jeugdhulp — Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „jeugdzorg jeugdzorgplus”
- AD — „jeugdzorg jeugdzorgplus”
- de Volkskrant — „jeugdzorg jeugdzorgplus”