Playing hard(er) to get. The State, International Couples, and the Income Requirement

Abstract: In recent years, several member states of the European Union have tightened the criteria for the legal immigration of a partner from outside the European Union. In the Netherlands, the income requirement for „family formation‟ was raised in 2004 from 100% to 120% of the minimum wage, potentially excluding about thirty percent of the working population from eligibility. The outcomes of this measure for international couples and, on the aggregate level, for migration flows were examined on the basis of administrative trend data and fifty in-depth interviews among international couples. It is demonstrated that the potential power of governments to intervene in partner migration risks being at odds with strongly felt cultural values surrounding partner choice and family life. Partner immigration decreased substantially, especially among poorer groups (ethnic minorities, women, youngsters). At the same time, the measure put pressure on the well-being of a segment of the international couples. In 2010, the European Court of Justice ruled that the Dutch income requirement contradicts the EU directive on family reunification

De prijs van de liefde? Over de gevolgen van de verhoging van de inkomenseis bij ‘gezinsvormende’ partnermigratie naar Nederland

Samenvatting Diverse EU lidstaten, waaronder Nederland, hebben de afgelopen jaren maatregelen genomen om partnermigratie te beperken. In 2004 verhoogde Nederland de inkomenseis voor „gezinsvorming. van 100% naar 120% van het voltijds minimumloon. Dat normbedrag is hoger dan het inkomen van circa 30% van de werkende beroepsbevolking. Op basis van IND-gegevens, CBS-gegevens en vijftig diepte-interviews onder internationale stellen is gekeken naar (1) de uitkomsten van de hogere inkomenseis voor de aard en omvang van partnermigratie en (2) de persoonlijke gevolgen voor internationale stellen die (aanvankelijk) niet aan de inkomenseis voldeden. We laten zien dat de potentiële macht van de nationale overheid om partnermigratie te beperken op gespannen voet staat met de waarde van een private familiesfeer. De partnermigratie naar Nederland daalde substantieel, vooral onder groepen met een zwakkere economische positie (niet-westerse minderheden, vrouwen en jongeren). Tegelijkertijd kwam het welzijn onder internationale stellen onder druk te staan. In 2010 oordeelde het Europese Hof van Justitie dat de inkomenseis van 120% in strijd is met de Europese Richtlijn voor gezinshereniging

Een onzekere toekomst:Kwalitatief onderzoek naar de ervaringen van afgewezen (ex-)alleenstaande minderjarige vreemdelingen en opvangouders met toekomstgerichte begeleiding

In 2016 werd een nieuw opvangmodel voor alleenstaande minderjarige vreemdelingen (AMV’s) van kracht. Het model wordt gekenmerkt door kleinschaligheid en begeleiding naar toekomstperspectief: jongeren van wie de asielaanvraag is ingewilligd en jongeren van wie deze is afgewezen worden, anders dan de situatie onder het oude model, apart opgevangen. Het onderhavige onderzoek had als doel meer zicht te krijgen op hoe AMV’s wier asielverzoek is afgewezen de begeleiding onder het nieuwe opvangmodel ervaren en wat hun ideeën zijn over de toekomst. De onderzoeksvragen luidden: 1. Wat zijn de ervaringen van jongeren van wie de asielaanvraag is afgewezen met de opvang en de (toekomstgerichte) begeleiding? 2. Past de begeleiding die ze krijgen bij hun behoeften? 3. Wat zijn hun ideeën over de toekomst (o.a. m.b.t verblijf in Nederland of terugkeer naar het land van herkomst)? INHOUD: 1. Inleiding, 2. AMV's en ex-AMV's over KWV's, mentoren en voogden, 3. Begeleiding in opvanggezinnen, 4. ConclusiesIn 2016, the Netherlands introduced a new model for the reception of unaccom-panied minor asylum seekers (UMAs). Distinctive features of the model are the small-scale housing facilities and the emphasis on guidance of UMA’s depending on their future prospects. In contrast to the past situation, minors who have been granted an asylum permit are now housed separately from those whose asylum application has been rejected. The current study aimed to provide more insight into rejected UMAs’ expe-riences about the guidance they receive under the new reception model, and how they see their future. The research questions were: 1. What are the experiences of youngsters whose asylum application has been rejected with the housing facility and (future oriented) guidance? 2. Does the guidance meet their needs? 3. How do they see their future (for instance with regards to staying in the Netherlands or returning to the country of origin)

A Sustainable Immigration Policy for the EU

A sustainable EU Immigration Policy aims to contribute to a vibrant European society through more effectively and selectively managed immigration from outside the EU, more attention to integration of immigrants, more rooting out of discrimination, more asylum centres close to areas of conflict, and more attention to education and training in areas where refugees have settled. Immigration from outside the EU is often opposed, mainly because of sluggish integration combined with tensions in actual and perceived values between immigrants and native populations. These divisions affect not only the first generation of immigrants, but also those that follow. We propose a sustainable, win-win policy fostering the benefits of immigration and in line with the preferences of EU citizens holding not only positive but also more sceptical views on immigration while relying on adherence to human rights. The proposed policy is directed towards more effectively and selectively managed immigration based on the employability potential of the immigrant, combined with more attention to integration and stricter measures to fight discrimination. We also acknowledge the need for a robust policy framework to cope with asylum and abrupt large-scale waves of refugees wanting to enter the EU, resulting from conflicts, natural catastrophes, and other sudden or violent events. We propose screening schemes for refugee camps surrounding countries they have fled to determine migrants' refugee status, channelling them either as economic migrants, selected on their employability, or through a humanitarian scheme that respects the EU's multilateral and bilateral commitments. Such a humanitarian scheme would be embedded into education-cooperation policies, to provide better opportunities to qualify for admission and substantially greater support for refugees

Management of children's urinary tract infections in Dutch family practice: a cohort study

BACKGROUND: Optimal clinical management of childhood urinary tract infections (UTI) potentiates long-term positive health effects. Insight into the quality of care in Dutch family practices for UTIs was limited, particularly regarding observation periods of more than a year. Our aim was to describe the clinical management of young children's UTIs in Dutch primary care and to compare this to the national guideline recommendations. METHODS: In this cohort study, all 0 to 6-year-old children with a diagnosed UTI in 2001 were identified within the Netherlands Information Network of General Practitioners (LINH), which comprises 120 practices. From the Dutch guideline on urinary tract infections, seven indicators were derived, on prescription, follow-up, and referral. RESULTS: Of the 284 children with UTI who could be followed for three years, 183 (64%) were registered to have had one cystitis episode, 52 (18%) had two episodes, and 43 (15%) had three or more episodes. Another six children were registered to have had one or two episodes of acute pyelonephritis. Overall, antibiotics were prescribed for 66% of the children having had ≤ 3 cystitis episodes, two-thirds of whom received the antibiotics of first choice. About 30% of all episodes were followed up in general practice. Thirty-eight children were referred (14%), mostly to a paediatrician (76%). Less than one-third of the children who should have been referred was actually referred. CONCLUSION: Treatment of childhood UTIs in Dutch family practice should be improved with respect to prescription, follow-up, and referral. Quality improvement should address the low incidence of urinary tract infections in children in family practice

Process factors explaining the ineffectiveness of a multidisciplinary fall prevention programme: A process evaluation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Falls are a major health threat to older community-living people, and initiatives to prevent falls should be a public health priority. We evaluated a Dutch version of a successful British fall prevention programme. Results of this Dutch study showed no effects on falls or daily functioning. In parallel to the effect evaluation, we carried out a detailed process evaluation to assess the feasibility of our multidisciplinary fall prevention programme. The present study reports on the results of this process evaluation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Our fall prevention programme comprised a medical and occupational-therapy assessment, resulting in recommendations and/or referrals to other services if indicated. We used self-administered questionnaires, structured telephone interviews, structured recording forms, structured face-to-face interviews and a plenary group discussion to collect data from participants allocated to the intervention group (n = 166) and from all practitioners who performed the assessments (n = 8). The following outcomes were assessed: the extent to which the multidisciplinary fall prevention programme was performed according to protocol, the nature of the recommendations and referrals provided to the participants, participants' self-reported compliance and participants' and practitioners' opinions about the programme.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both participants and practitioners judged the programme to be feasible. The programme was largely performed according to protocol. The number of referrals and recommendations ensuing from the medical assessment was relatively small. Participants' self-reported compliance as regards contacting their GP to be informed of the recommendations and/or referrals was low to moderate. However, self-reported compliance with such referrals and recommendations was reasonable to good. A large majority of participants reported they had benefited from the programme.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of the present study show that the programme was feasible for both practitioners and participants. Main factors that seem to be responsible for the lack of effectiveness are the relatively low number of referrals and recommendations ensuing from the medical assessments and participants' low compliance as regards contacting their GP about the results of the medical assessment. We do not recommend implementing the programme in its present form in regular care.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCTN64716113</p