Youth Services: What Are They?

The municipality is required to provide youth services to young people and their families who are experiencing difficulties growing up and/or raising children. To access specialized youth services, an assessment by a youth counselor or a referral from a family doctor (through the youth practice nurse), a certified institution, a pediatrician, or a medical specialist is required. 

The most commonly used forms of specialized youth services are Youth Mental Health Care and Counseling. Youth Mental Health Care provides mental health services for children up to age 18 (and in certain cases, up to age 23). It is intended for children who have mental health issues that hinder their development. Examples include symptoms of depression, fear of failure, severe worrying, hyperactive behavior, concentration problems, (signs of) autism, ADHD, and addiction.

Support services are available for children up to age 18 who are unable to cope with their disability or condition, or who have difficulty doing so. The goal is for your child to become as independent as possible through individual or group support. The support may also focus on other family members or on the daily commute to the day program. Support services are often part of a youth services package.

If you have a referral for youth services, you can find information about contracted youth service providers, types of specialized youth services, and availability on the website of the Zorg Holland Rijnland Service Organization: Youth Service Providers - Holland Rijnland (serviceorganisatiezorghollandrijnland.nl). Through this link, you will also find a link to the availability guide:Availability Guide

How does it work?

If you have a child who needs assistance, please report this using the reporting form or contact the municipality’s intake team by phone. They can be reached by phone every weekday between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. at 14071.

The intake team will work with you to determine who is best suited to assist you with your request for help. After this discussion, there are three possible outcomes:

- The counselor will discuss with you that your request for assistance will be forwarded to the team of youth counselors because an assessment under the Youth Act regarding specialized care is recommended.

- The counselor will refer you to other services within our municipality that can assist you with your request for help.

- The counselor determines that your request for assistance is complex or that it is not immediately clear which type of assistance best meets your needs. In this case, the counselor will bring your request to the referral meeting. This is a meeting where various organizations come together to discuss requests for assistance and determine who is best suited to help the person seeking assistance. The request for assistance is always discussed anonymously during this meeting. Once a clear recommendation has been reached during this meeting, the counselor on the intake team will contact you by phone to share this recommendation.

Research on Specialized Assistance

If your request for assistance is forwarded to the youth counselor team for further review, a youth counselor will schedule an appointment with you for a home visit. During this home visit, the counselor will assess your request for assistance and determine whether assistance is needed and, if so, what type of assistance is most appropriate for your situation.

You will receive a report of this conversation. It will indicate whether you are eligible for assistance and, if so, what kind.

What should I do?

You can submit a request for assistance regarding parenting, your child’s development, and/or mental health issues to the municipality using the submission form on the website. Once you complete this form, we will call you within 2 business days to discuss your request and work with you to determine what is needed to address it. You can also call 14071 any business day between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. When you call, simply state that you need assistance, and you will be connected to one of our intake counselors from the Social Services Team.

Youth Services: Report a Case Now  

How long does it take?

You can usually get general assistance right away. If you have submitted an application for youth mental health care, you will be notified as soon as possible whether you will receive assistance. In principle, this never takes longer than 8 weeks.

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