The Youth Welfare Agency (in
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
: ''Agentschap Jongerenwelzijn'') is an
agency
Agency may refer to:
Organizations
* Institution, governmental or others
** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients
** Employment agency, a business that ...
of the
Flemish Government
The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, a ...
responsible for
child welfare
Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to e ...
.
Background
The Flemish Government is the
executive branch
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state.
In poli ...
of the
Flemish Community
The Flemish Community ( nl, Vlaamse Gemeenschap ; french: Communauté flamande ; german: Flämische Gemeinschaft ) is one of the three institutional communities of Belgium, established by the Belgian constitution and having legal responsibilitie ...
of
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. In Belgium, the
Communities
A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place (geography), place, Norm (social), norms, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Identity (social science), identity. Communiti ...
are responsible for most aspects of child welfare, with the exception of
juvenile court
A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...
s and a few
youth detention center
In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. ''Abbreviations Dictionary''. CRC Press, 20011202. Retrieved 23 August 2010. , . juvenile det ...
s, for which the federal authorities are responsible.
Operations
The Youth Welfare Agency
recognises and
subsidises private providers and services for child welfare, organises the
foster care
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family mem ...
system and manages the social services at juvenile courts in Flanders, so-called ''community institutions'' where
juvenile delinquents
Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...
and minors in a problematic situation at home are committed, and other child welfare institutions. The agency's budget for 2017 was 492,082,000
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s.
History
The Youth Welfare Agency was created during the reform of the Flemish public administration in 2006, when the former ''Exceptional Youth Assistance'' and ''Community Institutions'' administration divisions were merged. The agency was officially founded on April 1, 2006, and was given the status of a so-called ''internally autonomous agency without
legal person
In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for ...
ality''. The agency is part of the so-called Welfare, Public Health and Family policy area, which consists of the
Department of Welfare, Public Health and Family and a few associated agencies such as the Youth Welfare Agency. The
minister responsible for the agency is the minister of Welfare, Public Health and Family of the Flemish Government. The current minister in the
Bourgeois Government
The Bourgeois Government (''Regering-Bourgeois'') was the Flemish Government formed following the 2014 Flemish Parliament election. The cabinet consisted of a centre-right coalition of the nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the Christian D ...
, which assumed office in 2014, is
Jo Vandeurzen
Johan Maria Gerardus Vandeurzen (born 2 June 1958) is a Belgian politician, member of ''Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams'' (CD&V), a centrist Flemish Christian Democratic party.
Vandeurzen holds a Master of Laws degree from the Catholic Univers ...
of the
Christian Democratic and Flemish party. The agency itself is led by an administrator-general.
In June 2018, the Flemish government decided on a proposal of minister Jo Vandeurzen to merge the
Flemish Child and Family Agency with the Youth Welfare Agency, in order to achieve an integrated policy around children. 'Youth and Family Agency' was chosen as a working name for the new agency that would be founded.
References
{{reflist
Flemish government departments and agencies
Child welfare