Children’s services need better data collection: ‘How can we prevent out-of-home placements?’
What reduces the likelihood of children being taken into care? At present, child protection services don’t have the data to answer that question. In her inaugural lecture, Anouk Goemans calls for data-driven systems, alongside attention to the stories behind the numbers.
When Anouk Goemans began working as a behavioural scientist and researcher at the Jeugdbescherming West child protection agency in 2020, one of the policy priorities was to reduce the number of children being taken into care. ‘How many are there now?’ she asked. To her surprise, no one could say because that information simply wasn’t available. That data is now in place, but there is still no record of how many children return home from care. ‘I still think that’s strange,’ says Goemans. ‘Children belong with their parents. That’s the bottom line.’
Better data will help children’s services learn and gain insight, ultimately improving the quality of support for families. It can help answer important questions, such as: How do professionals, together with parents and the child, decide where a child should grow up? And what support do parents need to enable a stable return?
Anouk Goemans
Anouk Goemans is Professor by Special Appointment of Youth Services and Child Protection from a Legal and Developmental Perspective at Leiden University. She also works three days a week as a behavioural scientist and researcher at Jeugdbescherming West, a certified child protection agency. She will give her inaugural lecture on 16 January.
Although significant steps have been taken since 2020 to make data within youth protection services more transparent, Goemans argues in her inaugural lecture for a strong data infrastructure. ‘We record quite a lot, but different organisations use systems in different ways and don’t all document the same things. That makes the data hard to use.’
Win-win-win situation
In various projects, Goemans and colleagues are exploring how youth protection and care can make more data-informed decisions. A key challenge is ensuring everyone benefits. ‘If you only think about your own research agenda, it won’t work because the data won’t be collected. Families and professionals should benefit first and foremost.’
When Goemans wanted to adjust the registration method so she could study where children go when they are taken into care, and the impact of the support provided, she was unsure how professionals would respond. ‘They didn’t choose this career to record data – they want to help people. Luckily, they responded positively because the changes also help them do their work. The adjustments give them a clearer overview of a family and make it easier to document their life story. Data collection should be a win-win-win situation.’
Different perspectives
But data doesn’t solve everything, which is why Goemans believes we also need to understand the stories and perspectives behind it. These can differ, as shown in a study examining how decisions were about children returning home, and the experiences of children, parents and professionals. ‘Children and parents felt they weren’t listened to or involved. And parents said they felt services weren’t working towards their child’s return. On the other hand, professionals said they do their utmost to facilitate the child’s return.’ Goemans wants to bring these perspectives closer together. ‘Better care for the child is in everyone’s interest.’
Centring children’s voices
This year, Goemans is starting a study on the voice of children in out-of-home placements. An important aim is to investigate the role of trust and a designated support worker – also known as a support figure – in creating a child-friendly environment. She will conduct the research together with young people who themselves have experienced out-of-home care.
‘We have a research plan, but we want them to tell us whether we’re on the right track at each step, what the research should focus on and how we should carry it out. And we want to learn from their experiences. The goal is that every child has a say in out-of-home care. Children have a right in our collecting knowledge that helps prevent out-of-home placements or ensures they cause as little harm as possible.’
Chair
Anouk Goemans' chair is funded by a named fund at LUF, made possible by Stichting Steunfonds Pro Juventute. The aim of the fund is to promote scientific research and education in the field of youth care and youth protection from a pedagogical and legal perspective, including by financing the special chair in Pedagogy and Law.