Since 1 January 2026, a youth care provider must have an internal supervisor if it provides youth care with stay with more than ten youth care workers. This also applies to a provider that works with more than twenty-five youth care workers in total, and to every certified institution.
An internal supervisor is a body that supervises management and advises it, such as a supervisory board. It consists of at least three people who are independent of the provider. For a company with one or two owners in management, that is a major change.
In short
- Required for youth care with stay with more than 10 youth care workers, for more than 25 youth care workers in total and for every certified institution. If you grow past the limit, you have six months.
- At least three people, appointed for at most four years and renewable once. They may not be in management, hold shares or have worked for you in the past three years.
- The government estimated the costs for a medium-sized provider at an average of € 13,300 one-off and € 5,300 a year, excluding the fees for the members.
In this article
- Which youth care provider must have an internal supervisor?
- How do you count the number of youth care workers?
- What requirements must the internal supervisor meet?
- What does the supervisor do, and what do you need to arrange for it?
- What does an internal supervisor cost?
- Does this also apply to disability care under the Wlz or Zvw?
Which youth care provider must have an internal supervisor?
Three groups. The provider that provides youth care with stay with more than ten youth care workers, the provider that provides youth care with more than twenty-five youth care workers, and every certified institution (Youth Act, article 4.4.1). A certified institution carries out child protection measures or youth probation.
The rule is in the Youth Care Availability Act. The part on governance structure has applied since 1 January 2026 (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2025, 283). According to the government, the act sets requirements for business structure and financial management, so that providers' financial problems do not lead to care being lost (Rijksoverheid, 7 October 2025).
The obligation applies regardless of your legal form. A foundation, a company or another form: it does not matter what the body is called, as long as it meets the requirements. So a supervisory board in either form can work (Parliamentary paper 36 546, no. 3, explanatory memorandum).
Two groups are exempt: municipalities that provide youth care themselves, and providers that only supply transport for young people (Youth Act Decree, article 4.0.a1). A solo youth care worker does not reach the numbers and therefore does not need a supervisor.
How do you count the number of youth care workers?
In the law, a youth care worker is a natural person who provides youth care professionally (Youth Act, article 1.1). The act counts the care workers with whom the provider provides youth care or has it provided. That suggests that care workers you hire in also count. Exactly how they are counted is not set out in the act.
Do you also provide care under the Healthcare Providers Admission Act (Wtza), for example disability care or adult mental health care? Then your care staff count as youth care workers (Youth Act, article 4.4.1(5)). This avoids having to decide for each person under which act they work (explanatory memorandum).
If you grow past the limit of ten, you have six months to meet the requirements (Youth Act, article 4.4.1(4)). Finding three suitable, independent people takes time. If you expect to grow, it is better to start before you reach the limit.
What requirements must the internal supervisor meet?
The internal supervisor consists of at least three natural persons. A member is appointed for at most four years, which may be extended once by at most four years. So in total someone serves at most eight years (Youth Act Decree, article 4.0.a2).
The members must be independent. A member only receives a reasonable fee from the provider for the supervision. The member and their partner or relatives up to the second degree have not been in management in the past three years, have not worked for the provider as an employee or contractor and hold no shares in the provider (Youth Act Decree, article 4.0.a3).
A member may also not be in management at the same time, nor be the alderman or mayor responsible for youth care. The provider encourages at least one member to have received youth care themselves, to be the parent of a young person who received care, or to work or have worked as a youth doctor or youth care worker (Youth Act, article 4.4.1).
A member may not be in the management of another provider doing the same work in your area. Nor may they sit on its supervisor there, unless that provider belongs to your own group (Youth Act Decree, article 4.0.a3). If you have a holding company with several care companies, one supervisor can therefore work for the group.
What does the supervisor do, and what do you need to arrange for it?
The supervisor oversees management's policy and the general course of affairs, and advises management (Youth Act, article 4.4.1). In doing so, it focuses on the interests of the provider, the public interest and those of the people involved (Youth Act Decree, article 4.0.a4).
- Record how responsibilities are divided between the supervisor and management, and how you resolve conflicts between the two (Youth Act, article 4.4.1).
- Have the supervisor draw up a profile: what knowledge and background the members need together (Youth Act Decree, article 4.0.a4).
- Give the supervisor all necessary information in good time, and at least once a year in writing the main lines of strategy, the general and financial risks and the management and control system (Youth Act Decree, article 4.0.a5).
- Amend your articles of association. In a company the supervisor can be a supervisory board of the company type, in a foundation a supervisory board of the foundation type.
Research on hospital boards gives an indication of why this matters. A review of 122 studies found clear differences between high- and low-performing hospitals, and effective oversight went together with well-informed and skilled board members (Millar et al., 2013). The researchers do call the field still immature. It concerns hospitals, mainly in the United States, and association, not proven cause.
For your practice this means: choose members who can really read the figures and risks of a youth care provider, and give them that information. A supervisor who only sees the annual accounts can do little.
What does an internal supervisor cost?
According to the government, an average of € 13,300 one-off and € 5,300 a year for a medium-sized provider, excluding the fees for the members. That estimate comes from Sira Consulting and is in the explanatory memorandum (Parliamentary paper 36 546, no. 3).
€ 13,300
one-off regulatory burden, average per medium-sized provider
€ 5,300
regulatory burden per year, excluding members' fees
3
members at least, each with a reasonable fee
The one-off costs lie in finding and appointing members, amending articles of association and recording the arrangements. The annual costs mainly concern the information you collect each year for the supervisor (explanatory memorandum). The fee for the three members comes on top. The regulation gives no amount for it, only that it must be reasonable.
Include those costs in your budget and your rate. Youth care is mainly purchased by municipalities. In their bylaws, municipalities must set rules for a good balance between price and quality (Youth Act, article 2.11). What that means in your contract differs per region.
Does this also apply to disability care under the Wlz or Zvw?
A similar rule from the Wtza applies there. An institution with an admission licence needs an internal supervisor of at least three natural persons, for at most four years and renewable once (Wtza Implementing Decree, article 6).
The exemptions are different. An institution that normally works with ten or fewer care workers does not need a supervisor. An institution where clients do not stay does not need one up to fifty care workers, unless it provides personal care, support or nursing under the Wlz or the Zvw (Wtza Implementing Decree, article 5).
Since 1 January 2025, the licence requirement also applies to care providers that provide Wlz or Zvw care with fewer than eleven care workers. Solo practitioners and subcontractors are exempt (CIBG, 30 December 2024). If you provide Wlz support with more than ten care workers, you therefore also need an internal supervisor under the Wtza.
Sources
- Youth Act (Jeugdwet), articles 1.1 and 4.4.1, version of 1 January 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
- Decree of 15 October 2025 on the entry into force of the Youth Care Availability Act, Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2025, 283. officielebekendmakingen.nl
- Rijksoverheid, Eerste Kamer stemt in met wet voor betere beschikbaarheid jeugdzorg (Senate approves act for better availability of youth care), news item, 7 October 2025. rijksoverheid.nl
- House of Representatives, Parliamentary paper 36 546, no. 3, explanatory memorandum to the Youth Care Availability Act, session 2023-2024. officielebekendmakingen.nl
- Decree on improving the availability of youth care (amendment of the Youth Act Decree), 5 November 2025, Bulletin of Acts and Decrees 2025, 357, articles 4.0.a1 to 4.0.a5. officielebekendmakingen.nl
- Millar, R., Mannion, R., Freeman, T. & Davies, H. T. O. (2013). Hospital board oversight of quality and patient safety: a narrative review and synthesis of recent empirical research. The Milbank Quarterly, 91(4), 738-770. doi.org
- Wtza Implementing Decree (Uitvoeringsbesluit Wtza), articles 5 and 6, version of 1 July 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
- CIBG, Wetswijziging Wtza per 1 januari 2025 (Amendment of the Wtza from 1 January 2025), news item, 30 December 2024. toetredingzorgaanbieders.nl