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Child scheme: support for children and young people
Recovering from the childcare benefit issue is primarily a matter for the parents, but children and young people have also suffered. The child scheme has been set up for them. This page explains what the child scheme is, who it is for and how it came about.
The problems with the childcare benefit have had a serious impact on children. Stress at home, poverty, and even parents or carers separating. The child scheme offers help in several areas.
Children of parents/carers confirmed as affected
The child scheme is a recovery scheme for the children of parents/carers confirmed as having been affected by the childcare benefits issue. “Confirmed as having been affected” means: the investigation of a personal situation reveals that mistakes were made with childcare benefits in the past. This has been confirmed in a formal decision. The child scheme is for the children of parents/carers who have received such a decision.
Children will be notified automatically
Most of the children and young people entitled to the child scheme are known to us. We know which parents/carers have been confirmed as being affected. They will automatically receive a letter from us providing more information. Many children have now received information about the child scheme. These are the children whose parent/carer has been recognised as an affected person prior to 31 August 2023 and whose full details are known to us.
There is no need to apply. It is necessary to register for the child scheme in the following four cases:
- The child has foster parents. The child has had foster parents.
- The child's parents/carers have died.
- The child does not have a citizen service number (BSN). This could be because the child was born abroad.
- The parents or carers have been recognised as having been affected prior to 31 August 2023. The child has not yet received a letter providing information about the child scheme.
Help in various areas
The child scheme provides support in various areas. This support is laid down in the Benefits Recovery Operation Act. That Act states that children are entitled to a sum of money and broad help and support.
Monetary amount
Affected children were given an important say in designing the child scheme and determining the monetary amounts involved.
The monetary amounts
A monetary amount has been set for each age group. A child's age on 1 July 2023 determines their age group. For example: a child was born on 18 June 2008. By 18 June 2023, the child will be 14 years old. But on 1 July 2023, the child will be 15 years old. In that case, the child falls in age group 15 to 17 and receives €8,000.
The amount for each age group is set out below. Children and young people are not liable for tax on this amount. They are net amounts.
| Age of child/young person on 1 July 2023 Monetary amount | |
| 0 to 5 years € 2,000 | |
| 6 to 11 years € 4,000 | |
| 12 to 14 years € 6,000 | |
| 15 to 17 years € 8,000 | |
| 18 and above € 10,000 |
The children and young people keep this amount for themselves. They do not have to repay it. They can immediately start thinking about what they want to do with the money, which will vary greatly between individuals.
Letter of explanation
We will first send a letter containing more information about the child scheme and the payable amount. We will also let you know if we need more information, such as your bank account number. We will pay out the amount once we have all the information. We send the letter to the children and young people themselves or their parents/carers.
We send these letters as follows:
- Children aged 0 to 11. We will send the letter to the parents/carers.
- Children aged 12 to 17. We send a letter to the children themselves, as well as a letter to their parents/carers.
- Young people aged 18 and above. We send the letter to the young people themselves.
Payments
The money is explicitly intended for the children and young people. Therefore, we prefer to deposit the amount in their own bank account. That is also the advice of the children and young people who we spoke to earlier about the child scheme.
Order of payment
It is not possible to pay all the amounts at once, and we will therefore pay out the amounts per group in the order of old to young. This means that the oldest youngsters will receive a letter and the pay-out first. The youngest children will follow as the last. For children from the same family, we will try to pay out at the same time.
Pay-out to the first group
We know the account numbers of the first group to receive the cash amount. This is the account number known to the Tax Administration (Belastingdienst). Young people can check which bank account number is known to us at my.belastingdienst.nl. Logging in to Mijn Belastingdienst goes via DigiD tab.
There are two options:
- The bank account number held by the Tax Administration is correct. The young person does not have to take any further action. The young person will receive another letter about 4 weeks after the first one. That letter is called a 'Notice of payment’ (Bericht van betaling). The payment will be credited to the bank account shortly after that.
- The bank account number held by the Tax Administration is incorrect. The young person can change the bank account number via mijn.belastingdienst.nl. But please note: from then on, the Tax Administration will also use the new bank account number for income tax and benefits. Of course, it is possible to change the bank account number back after receiving the money. You can change the bank account number for up to 10 working days after receiving the letter we sent.
- The young person will receive another letter about 4 weeks after the first one. That letter is called a 'Notice of payment’ (Bericht van betaling). The pay-out will be transferred shortly afterwards to the changed bank account number.
Later pay-out
In some cases a young person can receive the pay-out later. For more information on this, the young person can contact with the Service Team Benefit Restoration. This is possible for a maximum of 10 working days after receiving the first letter.
Debts or overdrafts with the bank
The pay-out is for the children and young people themselves. It is not set off against outstanding debts. Not even with debts with the Belastingdienst/Toeslagen.
However, a bank can use the payment to clear an overdraft. Example: a young person aged 19 receives a cash sum of € 10,000. But the young person has a € 5,000 overdraft with the bank. In that case, the bank uses € 5,000 to clear the overdraft. After that, the young person has € 5,000 left.
Children and young people may feel the need to talk about debt or having an overdraft with the bank or for help with solving the problem. They can contact our Service team for this purpose. The Service team listens to the children and young people and refers them to the appropriate aid agency if required.
Assistance and broad support
Children and young people had a big say in designing the child scheme and putting together the broad help and support.
Assistance from the local authority
Children and young people can contact their own local authority for assistance. This is referred to as 'broad support'. The children and young people talk to their local authority about what assistance they need and what assistance is right for them. This could be help with education, for example, or help and extra care when they are feeling down.
The local authority employs people specially trained to help children and young people. Children and young people aged 18 and above can contact their local authority themselves. For children under 18, the parents or carers can contact the local authority.
Please note: children and young people living in the Caribbean Netherlands or another country outside the Netherlands cannot apply for broad support themselves. If they need support, that will have to be added to the parents/carers action plan.
Additional assistance
More assistance for the children and young people will be available in the near future. This could be to help them come terms with what they have been through or to develop their talents. Information about this help will be posted here on the website.
Anonymous children's helpline
Sometimes someone just needs a little extra support. Or feels the need to talk to someone who listens without any preconceived ideas. Children and young people can contact the following organisations for this purpose:
Kindertelefoon (children's helpline) for children aged 8-18
The Kindertelefoon is for all children between 8 and 18 years old. It is also for children who want to talk about childcare benefit problems. Calling and chatting on the Kindertelefoon is free of charge.
Alles Oké? (Everything OK?) support line for young people aged 18-24
Young people aged between 18 and 24 who need support can contact the Alles Oké? support line. Everything is open for discussion, including the problems with the childcare benefits and their consequences.