Institutions for Conflict Resolution (COI)

Perspectives on legal protection

The Dutch child protection system

The ‘Toekomstscenario Jeugd- en Gezinsbescherming’ outlines a new Dutch child protection system for the future and aims to provide timely and appropriate care and protection to children and their families. In various places in the Netherlands, the ‘Toekomstscenario’ is put into practice in so-called 'testing grounds', pilots in which child protection organizations work together to improve youth care and child protection.

An important theme of the ‘Toekomstscenario’ is the legal position of children and their parents and equality of arms in child protection proceedings. Therefore, professors Marielle Bruning and Marike Lenglet of Leiden University were invited to conduct a small-scale study into perspectives on legal protection: 'What do the various parties involved in youth protection understand by legal protection?' This concerns children and their parents, professionals working in child protection, judges and lawyers.

Insights into the different perspectives on legal protection is necessary in order to sustainably improve the legal protection of children and their parents in child protection proceedings and to remove possible bottlenecks.