Dutch youth care was decentralized in 2015. Since the transfer to the municipalities, youth care is in a state of deep crisis. There are long waiting lists, even in situations of acute need; there is lack of money, of professional and experienced staff, of adequate care, and of central coordination and guidance. In contrast to Denmark, where youth care was transferred to municipalities in 2007, there was barely time to prepare the transfer in the Netherlands. Moreover, the number of municipalities was not significantly reduced and the funding was extremely cut back. In this article, a number of interventions is being proposed to save what can still be saved. First, funding will have to be substantially increased. Second, the access to youth mental health care should not be a matter of municipal authority.

This article addresses the role of parents and girlfriends in the process of giving up crime. It presents findings from a longitudinal study of 81 young recidivists examined over 15 years. It concludes that parents played a pivotal role in this process, since the young men began to realize what misery they had caused them. However, these young men did not change their path in life because of their parents. We conclude even stronger than with the parents that it does not seem likely that a young recidivist would desist because of his girlfriend. Nevertheless, it would seem that both parents and a secure, lasting relationship could indeed have a positive influence in this process, particularly in the motivation to stick to a new path towards a more pro-social lifestyle once it has been set out on.