In the Municipality of The Hague, more than 15,000 young people make use of youth care services. The majority of them receive youth care in the form of outpatient support. The municipality decided to reorganise and restructure the organisation and funding of this form of youth care as of 1 January 2024.

The Hague consists of various districts, some of which face major social challenges. Due to the fragmented supply of 180 providers, the new system divided the city into four regional lots, with one provider or consortium per area responsible for delivering neighbourhood- and family-oriented youth care. Funding is no longer based on a price-per-youth model (p*q funding). Instead, contracted providers receive a fixed lump sum for all young people in a given area, regardless of whether those young people actually make use of youth care services (population-based or task-based funding).

The lawyers of Duet advised the Municipality of The Hague on the design and implementation of the procurement of the The Hague Future Perspective for Youth and Family Support, as the system reform is officially known. A dialogue-oriented procedure for social and other specific services (SAS), focused on cooperation and partnership, was chosen. The procurement was completed successfully, on schedule and without legal proceedings. The Duet team also advised on the application and amendment of the national youth care contract standards, the use of which became mandatory for municipalities during the procurement process.

Would you like to know more about the change in direction of the Municipality of The Hague? Read the interview with Wim Bijl and Gerben Hagenaars on the PONT | Zorg&Sociaal.

Would you like to know more about the challenges The Hague faced during the first six months? Then read this interview with Gerben Hagenaars on the PONT | Zorg & Sociaal.