Youth Policy
The municipality is responsible for preventive youth policy and youth aid (not freely accessible). This means that appropriate help is available for all residents of Zoetermeer who need it. Sometimes help from one's own network, such as family, neighbors, friends or sports clubs, is sufficient. If this is not sufficient, help can also be provided by school, the general practitioner or other (youth) assistance providers.
The municipality of Zoetermeer finds it important that problems within a family or with a young person are noticed quickly. This in order to prevent worse. That is why the municipality has organized the services for young people and their parents as much as possible in the neighborhood, close to home. The help to families is offered integrally according to the principle "one household, one plan, one director". More information can be found on the page Parenting and growing up.
Purchasing specialized youth assistance in regional context
Together with the other nine municipalities of the youth region Haaglanden, the municipality of Zoetermeer purchases (highly) specialized youth aid. The H10 Purchasing Office supports the municipalities in this. From 2015 to 2019, youth aid is purchased on a performance basis. From 2020, the region will start with a result-oriented system. This system fits better with the "1 family, 1 plan, 1 director" idea of the Youth Act and is guided by more effective and efficient use of the youth aid budget. Results-oriented work encourages both municipalities and youth aid providers to put the transformation into practice.
Youth aid cost containment
Since the decentralization in 2015, most municipalities in the Netherlands have faced financial shortfalls in the budget for youth aid. This also applies to the municipality of Zoetermeer. In order to get a better grip on costs, the Youth Cost Control Action Plan was drawn up in 2017. This provided insight into determining factors, client flows and financial flows. Meanwhile, after extensive research, a follow-up plan has been drawn up that includes targeted measures to control costs more and, in addition, make qualitative improvements in youth aid.