Cabinet seeks to reduce one-to-one placements in youth care
The cabinet is allocating tens of millions for more appropriate help for young people with complex problems.
The cabinet wants to reduce the number of one-to-one placements in youth care. A total of €77 million will be made available for youth regions from 2026 to 2028; a further €20 million is being reserved for nationwide support.
The measures are set out in a cabinet statement dated 25 September. According to the cabinet, young people with complex and multiple problems sometimes end up in a one-to-one setting, for example at a holiday park, because appropriate residential help is unavailable. The government says such solutions are often unsuitable and costly.
The development is linked to the phasing out of closed youth care. This makes it more visible where provision for young people with severe problems falls short. The cabinet wants youth regions, certified institutions, schools and expert teams to work together in a breakthrough approach. The preference is for help in the young person’s own environment, with parents explicitly involved.
Of the €77 million, youth regions are intended to use the money from 2026 to develop new provision. The funding should also help young people currently living in residential care return home more quickly when this is responsible. The additional €20 million is intended for nationwide conditions, such as better insight into available places, greater coordination and a quality programme.
The cabinet is also working on a new legal framework for closed youth care. This form of care is being phased out, but according to the government it may remain necessary in exceptional situations for the safety of the young person or their surroundings. A previously announced amendment allowing young people to be locked in their rooms at night will not proceed, because the necessity was insufficiently substantiated and the risk of wider use was too great.
Municipalities remain responsible for youth care, while regional cooperation has played a more important role in specialist care since 2026. The distribution of money, powers and risks therefore remains a subject of debate. The Association of Netherlands Municipalities previously called for clearer financial agreements and greater coherence between responsibilities and resources.
The cabinet’s approach seeks to address two problems at once: young people must receive better help, and care must remain affordable and workable. It is still uncertain whether the additional funding will lead quickly enough to sufficient specialist places. Nor is it known exactly how many one-to-one placements will disappear or when.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The cabinet wants to reduce one-to-one placements and develop more appropriate regional help.
- €77 million is available for the approach; €20 million is reserved for nationwide conditions.
- Municipalities remain responsible for delivering youth care.
- Closed youth care is being phased out, but remains possible under certain conditions.
Left
Arguments The approach should primarily be based on young people’s rights and development. One-to-one care and closed youth care must not become structural solutions to a shortage of appropriate provision. Investment is needed, but young people and experts by experience should help determine how care is organised.
Values Equal access, legal protection, inclusion and public responsibility.
Consequences More small-scale and regional facilities could improve quality, but would require long-term investment and sufficient specialist staff.
Centre
Arguments The problem requires nationwide standards as well as regional delivery. Municipalities have a better understanding of local circumstances, but without nationwide coordination there will again be a shortage of places and information. The proposed approach combines both levels.
Values Workability, cooperation, continuity and institutional responsibility.
Consequences The transition may temporarily create additional costs and administrative pressure, but better matching could eventually reduce expensive emergency solutions.
Right
Arguments Youth care should focus on demonstrably necessary help rather than increasingly broad criteria for eligibility. Reducing expensive one-to-one placements is sensible, provided that safety and responsibility are clearly defined. Municipalities and providers must be held accountable for results.
Values Efficiency, clear boundaries, safety and financial discipline.
Consequences Tighter access can prevent waste, but must not mean that young people with severe problems disappear between institutions.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
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The core facts can be found directly in cabinet and parliamentary documents. The text clearly distinguishes between established measures and uncertain outcomes.
- confirmed The cabinet is making €77 million available for 2026, 2027 and 2028. — Mentioned in the cabinet statement of 25 September 2026. source
- confirmed A further €20 million is being reserved for nationwide conditions. — Mentioned in the same cabinet statement. source
- confirmed An amendment allowing young people to be locked in their rooms at night will not proceed. — The cabinet says the measure has been dropped because it was insufficiently substantiated and carried a risk of wider use. source
Editor's note
The cabinet’s measures and the amounts involved have been confirmed. The precise scale of the problem and the eventual impact of the approach have not yet been established.Sources
- Kabinet zet in op betere hulp aan jongeren met complexe problematiek — Rijksoverheid
- Acties met betrekking tot passende jeugdhulp — Tweede Kamer
- Over de Hervormingsagenda Jeugd — VNG
More on this in Dutch media
- NOS — „jeugdzorg jongeren”
- Het Parool — „jeugdzorg jongeren”
- Trouw — „jeugdzorg jongeren”