A significant number of youth care professionals in the Netherlands are suspected of fraud, leading to investigations, arrests, and concerns about the integrity of the system. A sample of 274 higher professional education (HBO) level youth care professionals registered with the SKJ (Foundation for Professional Registration in Youth Care) revealed that 95 individuals did not meet the required qualifications.

The SKJ investigation found that many of those unqualified professionals deliberately cheated by committing plagiarism or falsely claiming work experience. This discovery has prompted the SKJ to investigate all 3,000+ individuals registered based on experience certificates.

The Public Prosecution Service is also involved and is investigating EVC agencies (Recognition of Prior Learning), resulting in the arrest of four individuals from one agency. These individuals are suspected of selling hundreds of false experience certificates and are scheduled for a preliminary court hearing next month.

The SKJ registration is highly sought after, considered equivalent to the HBO social work youth program, and is a crucial requirement for many key youth care positions. This desirability has made the system vulnerable to abuse, especially with the increasing number of registrants holding experience certificates.

Industry association Jeugdzorg Nederland (Youth Care Netherlands) is concerned about the inadequate supervision of the experience certificate system. They suggest government control and oversight of the EVC agencies should be restored to prevent potentially dangerous individuals from working with vulnerable children.

The current independent supervisory authorities, funded by the EVC agencies themselves, are seen as ineffective. The SKJ has already withdrawn the registration of 50 professionals due to file irregularities, causing unrest and job losses, though some suspensions have since been withdrawn after judicial intervention.