'Veilig Thuis' hid children at secret location without parental consent
In the media image: Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash
Child protection services in the Netherlands held children at a location concealed from their parents without the approval of a court. Professor of Children and the Law Marielle Bruning told ‘Trouw’: ‘This legal process should never be circumvented.’
In August, three children were removed from their home by Veilig Thuis West-Brabant and placed in accommodation at a holiday park. According to the District Court of Breda, it appears that Veilig Thuis – the Dutch domestic abuse and child protection agency – had removed the children from parental authority. Yet, a child may only be held at a secret location with the legally required authorisation from a judge.
According to Mariëlle Bruning, removing a child from the family home without the parents’ consent can only proceed in the Netherlands through the Raad voor de Kinderbescherming (Child Protection Board) and the juvenile court. There are emergency procedures in place for such a situation. ‘This legal process should never be circumvented,’ Bruning says. According to the professor, it is important that such far-reaching decisions are first reviewed by a judge. Judicial intervention is only unnecessary if the parents themselves decide that it would be better for their child to live somewhere else temporarily.
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Read the full article in Trouw (€, in Dutch)