De rol van de Groningse kinderrechter bij ondertoezichtstelling 1922-1995

Between 1922 and 1995 children threatened in their development were not only placed under supervision by juvenile judges, they also executed this child protection measure. Besides legal knowledge they needed a diversity of personal qualities like pedagogical insight, a practical attitude and social interest.Ingrid van der Bij investigated the role of juvenile judges in the supervision order during this period in the district of Groningen. Zij was able to use a unique source, the dossiers compiled by the juvenile judges of all these children. This way she could describe the actions of the juvenile judges from within, an approach not yet used before for this subject in the Netherlands.

Juvenile judges in Groningen proved to be actively involved with ‘their’ children. Contacts with children occurred even in between court sessions by way of correspondence and the consultation hours on Saturdays. The dossiers also make visible the way in which the juvenile judges collaborated with other organisations like family guardianship associations and the Council for Child Protection. These parties gradually professionalised in the 20th century, but the juvenile judges retained a pivotal role for some time in the care for the endangered child. In 1995 they handed over the executive side of the supervision order to others; de decision on the future of the child remained theirs.

All this time the juvenile judges of Groningen strove to better pedagogical circumstances for the children they encountered. Willem Wolter Feith for example, juvenile judge of years in Groningen before the Second World War. On account of the supervision orders of several ‘fallen girls’ from Delfzijl he asked the mayor if he could add someone to the municipal police ‘to protect young women and girls.’ He is one of the passionate juvenile judges featured in this book.

Dissertation: http://hdl.handle.net/11370/bf0c3ba4-3606-4c95-a8f1-7bd2507b665f