Without an allowance affair, some children would never have been removed from home, research shows

Children of parents who were suspected of fraud with benefits were too easily removed from home, according to research. To prevent this in the future, youth care in the Netherlands must be improved. This is an important lesson from the benefits affair, concludes a committee.

Frank Timmers 27-03-25, 10:10 Last updated: 27-03-25, 10:38

This is what the Committee on Allowances and Removals informed victims of the benefits affair on Wednesday evening. They were informed online about research into the connection between the benefits affair and the relocation of young people and children. On Thursday, the committee, led by Mariëtte Hamer, will make the results fully public.

Families destroyed

In its report “Legacy of Injustice”, the Hamer Committee comes to three main conclusions. The first is that the benefits affair has destroyed families. Families that had no problems before were disrupted when they were labeled fraudsters and had to pay back thousands of euros.

For families who did already have problems, according to Hamer, it was “the final blow”. The committee notes that a number of relocations would not have occurred without the benefits affair. “There really is a relationship,” Hamer said. She did not mention numbers on Wednesday evening.

Failing Child Care

The fact that it has come to this is also due to Youth Welfare. According to Hamer, if there had been better assistance, a lot of removals could have been prevented. Hamer said: “Too little attention was paid to what was really going on in families. The assistance has not been good enough.”

The third conclusion is that children who are removed from home suffer from this to this day. This recognition led to emotional reactions in the chat during the online presence. A victim must fight back tears. Another describes the neglect and abuse “that our children faced.”

Recognition

The Hamer committee listed the three most important recommendations on Wednesday evening. The first is that the children of parents of the allowance affair should be considered as independent victims and not as the children of. This recognition should then lead to generous support for them to build a future. Now, they are still far too difficult and are up against walls with municipalities.

Secondly, there is work to be done for Youth Welfare. It needs to function considerably better. The number of relocations should be reduced in the future. “It really needs to be much less,” says Hamer. “Childcare services look far too little at what is going on in the family.”

Trust in citizens

The third recommendation is the call on politicians and institutions such as youth services and children's judges to take up the report together with parents and children. According to Hamer, that means a change in culture. Because they operate too much on the basis of distrust of citizens. Children and parents deserve more trust.

Hamer said the report is much more comprehensive in its conclusions and recommendations. On Thursday, she will hand out the first copies to children and parents who are victims of the benefits scandal. After that, three concerned state secretaries will get one and they will have to say something.

In minor

Hamer briefly addressed Wednesday's news that downplayed many victims of the benefits affair. The news was that the tax authorities and politicians have had data since October of people who may have wrongly reported as victims of the benefits affair. Hamer hinted that the leak of this news deliberately waited for the committee to come out with the report. “It just makes me combative,” she said.

On Thursday afternoon, the House of Representatives will discuss the Childcare Allowance Recovery Operation. Parents indicated in the chat on Wednesday evening that they are afraid that little will happen to the report. Hamer said: “That is also a very big concern for us, but we will put it as firmly as possible tomorrow and will follow politically that they will make our recommendations.”

The benefits affair is the scandal where unjustified allegations of child care allowance fraud have severely affected thousands of parents. This led to financial problems, emotional distress and, in some cases, to the relocation of children.