Flemish Minister for Welfare Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) on Monday presented a youth aid programme aimed at supporting an additional 2,000 children during the current legislative term.
The €120-million programme seeks to address the longstanding crisis in youth care services in northern Belgium.
One of its key measures is the centralisation of available places in youth care facilities in order to monitor capacity in real-time.
Quicker support for vulnerable children
An app will be developed to improve connections between potential foster families and children needing urgent care. This aims to streamline emergency placements and ensure quicker support for vulnerable children.
The plan introduces prenatal protection for vulnerable pregnant women, including those struggling with substance abuse or mental health issues.
These women will be better identified and offered tailored assistance.
If this help is refused, the woman concerned could be placed under mandatory supervision.
Prenatal protection sparks controversy
This measure is intended to safeguard the unborn child, but has sparked controversy.
Opposition party Groen has criticised the prenatal protection initiative. It argues that it may deter vulnerable women from seeking help, out of fear that their children will be taken from them.
Groen’s Jeremie Vaneeckhout highlighted the issue of long waiting lists in youth care, questioning how mandatory support could be enforced when services remain inaccessible.
He also raised concern about women’s rights, stating that the plan unfairly places sole responsibility for family challenges on mothers and overlooks broader family circumstances.
