How do you decide on the future of a child placed in care?
Research project image: Unsplash+
When a child is placed in care, the assumption is always that the child can return home again. But there are still many questions about how this process – the 'permanency plan' – is arranged. New research aims to provide insights.
Professors Anouk Goemans, Mariëlle Bruning and Lenneke Alink have received a grant of around €250,000 for the new research project on permanency planning for children placed in care. The grant has been awarded by BovenRegionaal Expertise Netwerk Zuid-Holland (BREN ZH), a network of youth care professionals.
Extra grant for additional research
The Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security is providing an extra grant of almost €600,000 for additional research in this project. This news item was updated in January 2026 following the announcement of this extra funding.
Compulsory out-of-home placements
Every year in the Netherlands, almost 10,000 children are forcibly placed in care. In these situations, the goal is always for the children to return home, provided it is safe and feasible. The question of where the best place is for a child to grow up – at home or elsewhere – is central when it comes to determining a permanency plan. This is often an emotionally difficult process involving uncertainty among children, parents and professionals.
For a long time, parents and their child have had no clarity and little autonomy on the question of whether it is feasible for the child to eventually return home. Despite the significant impact of out-of-home placement and the ensuing uncertainty, little scientific research has been conducted on what this process should ideally look like. This project aims to change that.
The research
The project involves six separate studies:
- Experiential experts will share their knowledge on how to determine a permanency plan.
- A literature study will identify existing knowledge and methods.
- Interviews with professionals from certified institutions, the Child Care and Protection Board and youth care providers to provide insights into current practices.
- The analysis of case files of children placed in care to examine how, in practice, decisions are made about where a child is best raised and what outcome that assessment ultimately leads to.
- Developing a new, standard procedure for a permanency plan together with parents, children, and professionals.
- Evaluating the new procedure: does it improve decisions on what is needed to enable a child to return home?
Studies 1 to 3 will be funded mainly by the grant from BREN ZH. Studies 4 to 6 will be funded by the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security.