Research what is useful to victims of the benefits affair

Research what is useful to victims of the benefits affair

Windesheim researcher Pamela Jakobs• Meddling government• JusticeA solution to the benefits affair is still a long way away. Investigations into the affair are also not helping because of the curious questions that Windesheim researcher Pamela Jakobs says are being asked. She comes up with alternative questions that are useful to the victims. By Pamela Jakobs31 May 2023In my work as a researcher, I regularly speak to parents who have been affected by the childcare allowance affair (KOTA). They say they have the feeling of sitting in a waiting area. For example, they are unable to attend an education, are afraid to apply for benefits and are unable to offer their children the rash childhood as any parent would like to do. To everyone's great disappointment, the recovery process, initiated in 2020 by the government with the Implementation Organization for Recovery Allowances (UHT), is also incredibly slow and the trust of many in the government has continued to crumble (Kanne & Driessen, 2021). I don't know about you, but now I feel a bit paralyzed by the disappointing news reports about the benefits affair that keep following each other.CBS with exaggerated conclusionOne of those news reports caught my special attention: the NOS news report about the CBS investigation (2022) into the role of youth protection in displacing children of affected parents. The exaggerated conclusion in particular surprised me. Was it really possible to say that being a duped parent did not increase the chance of a child protection measure (and thus the risk of being evicted)? A wonderful conclusion is not an isolated one, it has a remarkable study. Fortunately, the CBS asked itself this and then weakened this conclusion: “On average, victims of duping come into contact with youth protection more often. It cannot be ruled out that this is the case for individual cases' (Huisman, 2023a) .Remarkable research questionAlone, a wonderful conclusion is of course not an isolated case, it involves a remarkable study. As scientific researchers, we try to conduct socially relevant, ethically responsible and independent research. This does not seem to have come out quite well in the CBS investigation. Because, what do we need in society right now? In my opinion, this is mainly that an allowance affair can never happen again and that families are compensated as quickly as possible. That seems difficult enough already. That is why it might be more useful to investigate how the recovery process can be completed carefully but quickly, and where the needs of affected families are central. Isn't it more useful to use public money to investigate themes that help families themselves? In that light, I was surprised that CBS was willing to answer the research question “Have families that are victims of the benefits affair come into disproportionate contact with child protection measures?” to investigate. Based on what is already scientifically known about the effects of financial stress on parenting, it is almost impossible to imagine that, thanks to the KOTA, families have come into contact with youth protection more often than families in general (NJI) .Perspective of the victims. Isn't it more useful to use public money to investigate themes that help these families themselves? Let us not forget that the families affected by the benefits affair already had a vulnerable position in society and that they were placed in an even more vulnerable position due to the benefits administration department and youth protection (CBS, 2022). Moreover, from a methodological point of view, it is quite difficult and perhaps even impossible to answer the question asked by CBS with the statistical research methods and data sources used. Indeed, there is a group of affected parents who have not reported to the benefits administration department, due to exhaustion or mistrust. Other research shows that this group is large (Van der Grient & Kay, 2021). The statistical analyses show averages of large numbers, but miss the perspective of affected parents and children. Something that is just so important in this situation. That's why I can't imagine — with this prior knowledge — that no one at CBS has shouted: “Should we do this research?” Another uninspiring question. It has probably not been possible to learn from the foregoing, given the next study that is ready (inspectie-jenv.nl) containing the uninspiring research question: “Why did affected families face child protection measures (Youth and Safety Inspectorate, 2022)?” I myself thought about: “What else do families need besides financial compensation?” Come on, the Justice and Security Inspectorate and the Health Care and Youth Inspectorate, is this the research question that will contribute something? Are you going to harass affected families with this? Isn't the answer to this research question obvious? Poverty is one of the biggest risk factors for child abuse and neglect (Child Protection Council, 2018) .Not too late.The reality is that the recovery process is chaotic, slow and suspicious. Around fifteen hundred parents only received their compensation, which was rejected at the first review by the UHT, only after an extensive assessment. More than 4,000 parents protested against the UHT's decisions. In addition, few children who have been displaced from home are still back with their biological parents. Of the 300 parents who report for contact recovery, only eleven families have been reunited. (Huisman, 2023b; Stokmans, 2023) .These are families that have often been living in poverty and insecurity for years. Given what we know about chronic stress and its impact on families (and its impact on future generations), these are topics that should not be postponed any longer. Inspections, it's not too late to come to another research question. I myself thought of: “What else do families need to solve chronic and structural problems caused by the KOTA, in addition to financial compensation?” or “What do the affected parents and children think it takes to strengthen their position in society?” After all, I have my doubts whether almost free childcare is the golden solution for everyone. These families no longer trust the government and it is expected that with this proposal, childcare will eventually only become more expensive (Roeters & Vliek, 2022) .Pamela Jakobs works as a researcher at the Customer Perspective in Support and Care lectorate at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Almere. She started her PhD research in 2022, which focuses on resilience among families with multiple and complex problems. The perspective of these families is leading in this regard.