Two weeks old was the youngest child when a juvenile nurse deemed that mother should cut off all contact with father. Mother was no longer allowed to open the door for father. Should she do so, the children could possibly be placed out of the home.
Acting incorrectly
That a youth nurse has no legal authority at all to determine that there should be no contact and that she can only give advice that can be followed voluntarily was not told to mother or to father. Nor was father told what rights he had. Nor were father's parents involved. This while they gave a lot of support to the family. Mother (and therefore the children) were not allowed to have contact with them either.
Father felt unable to cope with the false image that had been created about him by the juvenile nurse. He was literally sick with grief because he was not allowed to see his children and his partner. This caused Father to lapse into drug use where he had not used for a long time. Less than two weeks after being restricted from interacting with his children, he died of an overdose.
Disciplinary complaint against juvenile nurse
Father's family asked me to assist them in filing a disciplinary complaint to the youth nurse.
By invoking art. 67 paragraph 3 of the BIG Act, access was obtained to the medical records. This article regulates that certain documents are not shared with the complainant but only with the lawyer. The medical files showed that the youth nurse had taken a lot of (medical) information about father, for which father had not given permission at all. But more importantly, much of the information was incorrect. The youth nurse had not verified the information with father before including it in reports. Hearsay had not been applied.
In the proceedings, the youth nurse indicated that it was not her job to find out the truth and that she did not have to check with the parent in question whether what had been told about him was correct. She should have done so. Article 3.3 of the Youth Act stipulates that in reports the relevant facts must be stated completely and truthfully. This provision is intended to ensure that later decision-making - for example, if a judge must decide on an out-of-home placement of a child - is based on correct information. If incorrect information is included in reports, this has major consequences down the line.
Judgment of Central Disciplinary Tribunal
Following the Regional Disciplinary Tribunal ruled the Central Disciplinary Tribunal:
- That the juvenile nurse had improperly imposed a restraining order on father;
- that the juvenile nurse had improperly used medical treatment information about father (for which consent was lacking);
- that the juvenile nurse had improperly denied father an opportunity to present his views;
- That the juvenile nurse had improperly failed to inform father; and
- That the juvenile nurse erred in failing to verify that father was being offered assistance.
The appeal also found that the juvenile nurse had improperly failed to involve the family network.
A reprimand was imposed on the juvenile nurse.
There is still much room for improvement in youth care. Newsweek paid attention some time ago to the gray area that has emerged in youth care, where far-reaching measures are imposed on families that are legally voluntary but are perceived by parents as forced. The Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles called for new policies to make clearer what rights and obligations parents have.
Father's parents hope with the disciplinary proceedings they initiated that the juvenile nurse but also others will learn from the case.
In any case, a step in the right direction is when parents are properly informed of their rights, the adversarial process is applied, medical information is not used without permission and the supportive family network is involved. If that had been properly applied in this family, I don't think a disciplinary complaint would have been necessary.
Amsterdam, Feb. 15, 2022
If you have questions about this blog, please contact the author, Mildred Brun.