Policy framework

Early and Nearby

The Flemish Agency of Growing Up, The Department of Care, the Flemish Agency for People with a Disability, together with a lot of partners, worked together on a youth and family policy that should streamline care and support for children, young people and families and make the policies more integrated, efficient, targeted and better. The policy plan is called ‘Early and Nearby’ (Vroeg en Nabij). According to the new principles, service and assistance must take place in families' and young people's own living environment, in the neighbourhood and in the school. To this end, there must be a stronger link between preventive family support and integrated youth assistance, among other things. It is also important to detect any problems or needs as early as possible in order to provide the right care and support as soon as possible. Thus, the integrated approach not only insists on the importance of the first 1,000 days, but also on strengthening prevention and early detection. 

On the 17^th of May 2024 the Decree on the organization of an integrated youth and family policy was accepted by the Flemish Parliament. This decree creates a number of opportunities to take short-term steps within the welfare, public health and family policy area, together with stakeholders and partners, towards more integrated cooperation and towards more accessibility and continuity of care and support processes. On the basis this decree, the current Flemish Government can implement the provisions of the decree. New and additional regulatory and budgetary initiatives may also be needed to fully realise the objectives within the broader ‘Vroeg en nabij’ policy plan. Further development and follow-up also involve the policy domains of Youth and Education and stakeholders from different sectors.

The Flemish Government has approved 6 pilot projects concerning care and support and 6 pilot projects concerning early detection. 

Care and support:

• Organise high-quality, inclusive and integrally accessible places and offer a high-quality, inclusive and integrally accessible supply in the living environment of future parents, children, youngsters, their families and contexts.    
• Organise effective and adequate support and care pathways tailored to the needs of future parents, children, young people, their families and contexts, as closely as possible and avoiding. fault lines in the care and support pathway, regardless of age or pivotal moment.   

Early detection: 

• Establish accessible diagnostic places, grafted onto the places where children, young people, families and their contexts already visit.
• Organise places for effective and appropriate tailor-made care and support pathways.
• Bring together knowledge and expertise to provide answers to the most diverse diagnostic questions.

The pilot projects started in September 2024 and will last for two years. Each pilot project is supported by and external partner from the start. From 2025, the pilot projects will also be followed up scientifically. Based on this, informed policy decisions can be made for the further implementation of care and support networks at local level and early diagnosis networks.

Integrated care program

The protocol agreement of the interfederal plan for integrated care, approved by the ministers of the federal government and the federated entities, aims to organise care and welfare as integrated as possible, inspired by the Quintuple Aim-model. Three interfederal programmes will be launched, each aimed at a specific target group:

• Care and support for pregnant women, their children and their families during the first 1000 days
• Vulnerable people
• Prevention and treatment of obesity in children and young people

The programme 'Care and support for pregnant women, their children and their families during the first 1000 days' has been launched and aims to ensure effective access to care and support for the target group during the first 1000 days. This care is integrated, continuous and tailored to the needs of the pregnant woman, their children and their family (according to the principle of proportional universalism). This requires strong interaction and cooperation between the care and welfare professionals involved on the one hand and the family on the other.

Programme ‘Early detection and intervention’ (Connect)

The early detection and early intervention programme, within the child and adolescent mental health networks, also called Connect, has its origins in 2017 and will be continued with a new 3-year agreement from 1 September 2023 - 31 December 2026. To this end, the existing early detection and early intervention offer was evaluated and weighed against already existing other programmes. In the future, Connect will focus specifically on the target group (0-23 years) at serious risk of developing psychological problems, without (already) having a request for help and on the target group that does not (or cannot) ask for help, despite already present psychological complaints or suffering. In both target groups, interventions aim to prevent a psychiatric diagnosis or problems and dropout in one or more life domains.

Three objectives are envisaged:

1. More children and young people will be reached by the renewed programme than in the planned baseline.
2. The waiting time for referral to the Centre for Mental Health Care, for the target group that seems to need it after early detection and intervention, has been reduced compared to the baseline measurement.
3. The target group using the programme is mapped (age, problems, objective, etc.).

The resources provided in 2025 include an annual subsidy of 4,235,189 euros for Connect, and an additional annual subsidy for follow-up care from the Centre for Mental Health of 546,000 euros on an annual basis. Resources will also be provided from the crisis and investment plan for youth aid (crisis- en investeringsplan jeugdhulp).

Flemish Parliament Act of 1 March 2014 on Integrated Youth Care

On 1 March, 2014 the Integrated Youth Care Act came into force. This renewed act entails far-reaching cooperation between all anchor sectors involved in youth and puts the young central. The main objective is that every young person with a problem finds as quickly as possible the appropriate help (see 7.5 - Mental Health).

If young people need specialised help they must first apply to the ‘access portal’ or ‘intersectoral gateway’. Together with young people and their parents this access portal will then check which help would offer the best solution to a problem. In short: young people can no longer approach a specialised organisation for help themself.

Centres for Educational Guidance

Centres for Educational Guidance (Centrum voor Leerlingenbegeleiding - CLB’s) are organized by the Decree of 27 April 2018 on pupil guidance in primary education, secondary education and centres for educational guidance (Decreet betreffende de leerlingenbegeleiding in het basisonderwijs, het secundair onderwijs en de centra voor leerlingenbegeleiding). 

The Act stipulates that the school team has to: 

• develop a qualitative policy about educational guidance with the pillars educational career, learning and studying, mental and social functioning and preventive health care
• make appointments with the CLB
• appoint a guidance counselor or care coordinator 

The CLB has to:

• signal possible problems to the school (e.g. bullying)
• provide consultative guidance on demand
• organise systematic contacts (at the age of 3, 6, 9, 11 and 14 years old) 
• assist students in home education 
• share expertise with other centres (e.g. especially about topics such as radicalisation, truancy, early school leaving, etc.)

The pedagogical counselling services (pedagogische begeleidingsdiensten) has tosupport the school in developing the policy about educational guidance in case of problems, the pedagogical counselling services can start a project or refer to external services. In Flanders, there are 59 centres, which each belong to one of the three educational networks. 

CLB’s offer pupil-oriented services but can also support schools and parents in the optimisation of pupils’ welfare and the pupils' functioning within the school environment. The care provided by CLB’s covers four areas:

• learning and studying: problems with reading and spelling, speech and language, etc.

• the educational career: monitoring compulsory education, study-choice guidance, information regarding education and the link to the labour market, directing to and from special education, etc.

• psychological and social functioning: behavioural problems, social skills, emotional problems, etc.

• preventive health care: medical check-ups, vaccinations, taking measures in the event of contagious diseases, healthy nutrition, substance abuse, etc.

So CLB’s provide multidisciplinary guidance. To this end, a CLB co-operates with welfare and health institutions. In a CLB, doctors, social workers, educationalists, psychologists, psychological assistants and nurses are employed. 

The welfare of the pupil is central and guidance is based on trust and dialogue. Therefore the guidance only starts when a pupil or parent has taken an initiative in this respect. If a school asks the CLB to supervise a pupil, the centre will always first expressly ask for the parents’ consent (for a pupil under the age of 12), or the pupil’s consent (from the age of 12).

Perinet

Perinet is an expertise network aiming to create a warm nest for professional caregivers from which they can start to provide optimal support to young families.  It came into existence in 2024 after several pilot projects. It is embedded in Psyche, an organization that aims to improve the quality of mental health care by offering knowledge, sharing expertise and promoting cooperation. Perinet & Psyche are funded by the Department of Care.

Child and family

Child and family (Kind en Gezin) is the contact point for all (expectant) parents and young children growing up in Flanders and Brussels. They are part of the Flemish Agency of Growing Up.

Stakeholders

Early and Nearby

Early and Nearby (Vroeg en Nabij) aims at involving all stakeholders in care and wellbeing to strengthen the basic facilities to make them more integrated, efficient, targeted and better. The first 1,000 days are crucial for the further life of every child. That is why Vroeg en Nabij is committed to giving all young children a flying start from the very beginning. In Flanders, all parents can count on support during pregnancy and the development of their young child. From GPs, gynaecologists, midwives and maternity nurses. Whether it is about young children's potty training or their mental health. There should be reliable, inclusive childcare with a solid quality label where children can safely take their first steps. Any concerns? Then family support workers will look with the family to see how you can be even stronger as a parent. That way, even the littlest ones are given the necessary push. Are there major concerns? Then Vroeg en Nabij brings parents and social workers together around the children and help the families and children themselves to be at the wheel of their safer future. Does a child, young person or family need help? Then that help is provided in a place as close as possible to where they live. In their neighbourhood, in their street, in their school.

Programme ‘Early detection and intervention’ (Connect)

The programme ‘Early detection and intervention’ focuses on inter-sectoral cooperation with general practitioners, services of paediatric, actors within integrated youth care, schools, CLB’s, children’s centres and centres for general welfare work. 

Centres for Educational Guidance 

School teachers are responsible for early detection and can notice unusual behaviour or worrying signals of students. If they have a suspicion that the physical safety and mental well-being of a student will suffer, school teachers should involve the teacher who is responsible for care and well-being of students (i.e. the guidance counselor of care coordinator). The school in consultation with the student and his parents can decide to refer the student to a Centre for Educational Guidance (CLB). 

Child and family

Child and family (Kind en Gezin) exists out of local teams. Each local team consists of several municipalities, with the exception of the big cities. The local team brings a tailor-made offer, adapted to the local situation in a municipality or city and the needs of each family. Each local team is multidisciplinary. Partner organisations and facilities can count on the support of an intersectoral officer. In total, there are 57 local teams. 

Perinet

Perinet, as an expertise network, facilitates connection and collaboration between healthcare professionals, sharing and strengthening expertise from the Parent Infant Mental Health vision. 

Guidance to stakeholders

There is no further information on guidance provided by public authorities to guide stakeholders. However, the Flemish-funded partner organisations of the Flemish Government, such as the Flemish Institute for Healthy Living and VAD, provide information, guidelines and (teaching) material for stakeholders on their website. 

Target groups

 The action plans focus on vulnerable groups and people with increased vulnerability, such as young people with mental problems. 

Funding

The funding of the Flemish Government is provided to actions of the Flemish action plans and to organisations in this field. Funding mechanisms are described where the programme / intervention is mentioned above.