Youth Act

What we do

For children and young people, there is the Youth Act. This Act regulates most care and support activities for children and young people who have not yet reached the age of 18. It is also possible for young people up to the age of 23 to receive extended youth care.

Various forms of youth care fall under the Youth Act. These include:

• Mental health care for youth;
• Support for young people with a (mild) intellectual disability;
• Child protection etc.

The Youth Act has a number of objectives. The objectives are:

• Ensuring consistent support for families
• To utilize the qualities of the young people.
• Don't prescribe medication too quickly
• Prior to providing tailored (youth) support for vulnerable children.
• To seek solutions together with the care provider (and possibly also with parents).

The municipality also plays an important role under the Youth Act. The role of the municipality is to advise young people on the most suitable way to help them, to determine together with young people which suitable form of assistance suits them, etc.

Because the Youth Act gives municipalities the scope to make their own choices. The Youth Act does this deliberately because it results in more customization. This creates more personalization and therefore more differentiation.

Questions regarding the Youth Act? Please contact us!

The Youth Act within the social domain

The Youth Act is one of the pillars of the social domain, alongside the Social Support Act (Wmo) and the Participation Act. Since the decentralization of 2015, municipalities have been responsible for virtually all youth care. Pursuant to Article 2.3 of the Youth Act, a duty to provide youth care: the Executive must make appropriate provision for a young person residing within the municipality who requires assistance with developmental, upbringing, psychological, or behavioral problems, insofar as the family's own capabilities and problem-solving capacity fall short.

At MKB Juristen, lawyers and in-house counsel work together in mixed teams. We assist municipalities and youth care providers as well as parents and young people – from a large care organization to the small practice around the corner. This page falls under our main expertise, the Social Domain, where we bundle the legal aspects of care, support, and participation.

Objection and appeal against a decision regarding youth care

A decision by the Municipal Executive regarding the granting, refusal, or termination of an individual youth care provision is a decision within the meaning of the General Administrative Law Act (Awb). Structured legal protection is available against this:

• Objection: you must submit an objection to the municipality within six weeks of the announcement of the decision. The municipality will reconsider its decision and may make a new decision.
• Appeal: if the municipality maintains its position, you may lodge an appeal with the administrative judge of the District Court, administrative law sector.
• Interim measure: in urgent cases, the preliminary relief judge may be asked to temporarily continue youth care.

A lawyer or legal expert in administrative law as well as the Youth Act drafts the notice of objection, requests the case file, monitors deadlines, and speaks at the hearing. For municipalities, we specifically handle the defense side: a carefully reasoned decision that stands up to scrutiny by the administrative court.

Realistic rates and procurement of youth care

Municipalities purchase youth care from providers. In doing so, pursuant to Article 2.11, paragraph 2, of the Youth Act (until 1 July 2022 Article 2.12 of the Youth Act), the municipality must ensure a fair balance between price and quality: providers are entitled to a fair price. Since 1 July 2024, the Decree on Fair Prices under the Youth Act further details on this. A fair rate must take into account at least:

• costs of professionals (salaries, allowances, employer contributions);
• client-related costs, such as materials and aids;
• overhead (ICT, accommodation, organizational costs);
• indexation and a reasonable degree of risk coverage.

Case law (including the District Court of Central Netherlands) requires municipalities to conduct a thorough and sound cost analysis on their own initiative and to make the determination of rates transparent before the submission deadline. We advise providers who consider a rate too low and municipalities that wish to make their procurement legally watertight. Also read our pages on tenders in the social domain and contracts in the social domain.

The medical referral pathway and the coordinating role of the municipality

In addition to municipal access, the Youth Act provides for the medical referral route: a general practitioner, youth doctor, or medical specialist can refer directly to youth care. The municipality is then legally obliged to fund the assistance, even if it has not assessed the referral itself. The provider subsequently determines the form, frequency, and duration of assistance required, within the framework of the municipal ordinance and contractual agreements.

This tension—an open referral route versus a municipality that must safeguard its budget—regularly leads to disputes regarding the scope of the youth care obligation. Clear regulations, precise contracts, and sound contract management are the most important steering instruments for municipalities. We assist in drafting these and in resolving conflicts between the municipality and the provider.

The principle of residence: which municipality pays?

Since January 1, 2022, a revised principle of residence under the Youth Act. This determines which municipality is responsible for youth care as well as the associated costs. The starting point is the registration of the young person in the Personal Records Database (BRP): for outpatient care, the municipality where the young person is registered, and for residential care, the municipality where the young person was registered immediately prior to residential care. A delay in an administrative transfer does not relieve the originally responsible municipality of the costs. Disputes between municipalities regarding the principle of residence can escalate significantly; we assist municipalities in the mutual division of responsibility and costs. Anyone wishing to know which administrative body is competent for what should also read our page on the division of competences.

For whom we work

Our mixed teams of lawyers and (in-house) legal counsel assist a wide range of parties in matters concerning the Youth Act:

• Municipalities: obligation to provide youth care, ordinances, procurement, realistic rates, objection and appeal procedures, and disputes regarding the principle of residence.
• Youth care providers: from large care corporations to small independent practices – contracting, rates, tenders, and disputes with the municipality.
• Parents and young people: objection and appeal against a rejection or termination of youth care.

From international corporation to the baker on the corner: we translate the Youth Act into a concrete, feasible approach.

Frequently asked questions about the Youth Act

What falls under the Youth Act?
The Youth Act regulates virtually all forms of youth care for young people up to the age of 18 (in certain cases up to the age of 23): youth mental health care, assistance for a (mild) intellectual disability, child protection, and juvenile probation. Municipalities are responsible for this.

How do I object to a rejection of youth care?
You must submit a notice of objection to the municipality within six weeks of the decision. If the objection is rejected, you can appeal to the administrative court. Seek assistance as early as possible to ensure that deadlines do not expire and the correct legal framework is applied.

Which municipality is responsible for youth care?
The principle of residence determines this. Since January 1, 2022, this is in principle the municipality where the young person is registered in the BRP, with a separate rule for residential care.

Is a provider entitled to a higher rate?
Pursuant to Article 2.11 of the Youth Act and the Decree on Fair Prices under the Youth Act, the municipality must apply a fair price. If a rate is demonstrably unrealistic, a provider may challenge this legally.