Between 50 and 60 people working in youth social services have so far been scrapped from the official register because their papers were not in order and they may have been involved in fraud and crime, RTL has reported.

The SKJ, which oversees the registration of youth care professionals, suspects that some may have forced vulnerable youngsters into crime, and says the current figure could be the tip of the iceberg.

The irregularities were uncovered during spot checks of 274 certificates, with one in five people whose EVC certificate was examined removed from the register. Around 3,500 people with an EVC certificate will undergo further checks in the coming months. Most of the SKJ’s 62,000 registered social workers have a degree rather than a certificate.

Certified social workers are authorised to make diagnoses, appoint guardians in complex situations and play a key role in supporting troubled youngsters.

“While we were making the checks we saw similarities between different files, sometimes identical texts,” an SKJ spokesman told RTL. The foundation is planning to report its findings to the police.

Esther Polhuijs, from child rights organisation Unicef, said the findings are extremely worrying. “Youth social work requires becoming involved in families to protect children on behalf of the government,” she said. “It is pretty clear that monitoring is not being done properly and unsuitable people are looking after children. And that is a very disturbing observation.”

The number of bureaus with EVC certificates has exploded in recent years, and inspectors, the police and regulators have all warned previously about widespread fraud and links to organised crime.

According to the Telegraaf, children with learning difficulties are particularly at risk, and have been recruited to work as sex workers, deliver drugs or even place explosives at private homes and business premises.

The paper quoted 15-year-old Jason, who was living in residential care and said he was recruited by a social worker to work for a gang, first taking part in bank card scams and later placing explosives.

The Netherlands has thousands of small companies offering care services, ranging from community nursing to psychiatric care, youth coaching and residential support. They are funded by local authorities and health insurance companies, often via personal care budgets (PGBs), which allow people to purchase care services directly.

Vulnerable clients

Research commissioned by the health ministry in Twente and published in 2021 found that several small care organisations had forced vulnerable clients – often troubled youngsters or people with psychological or addiction issues – to work on marijuana plantations or trafficked them for sex.

These organisations, often one-person businesses with just a few clients, offered various types of care, including sheltered work programmes and housing.

The report also highlighted a lack of information about care firms operating with public funds and called for much tighter screening processes and oversight.

Many of these companies, the researchers said, are embedded in wider criminal networks involving the property, hospitality and transport sectors. In most cases, they were unable to determine how much income the companies had or how many staff they employed, if any.