Boy and girl beaten, forced into heavy farm work, bitten by dog at Niekerk family home

The safety and quality of care in a family home in Niekerk, Groningen, were seriously deficient, according to the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ). A boy and a girl, now 9 and 10, were reportedly abused and neglected for years at the Bersama family home. The man and the woman had reportedly beaten the children, allowed their dog to bite them, and forced them to perform heavy farm work.

The children had been removed from their parental home and had been living under the guardianship of the William Schrikker Foundation (WSS) from 2022. WSS was the organization that had the custody of the abused foster Vlaardingen girl.

The boy and the girl were placed at Bersama in Niekerk in November 2022 by the WSS. It is a small residential space for children that can no longer stay with their parents, NOS explained. It operates under Cornerstones Jeugdzorg. Stichting Elker organization was also involved. It provided therapy for the kids, helped the family home mother, and arranged school support for the kids.

The insepctorate found that signs of abuse at the care home had already emerged in January 2023, when one of the kids told something to Elker. During the same time period, the mother had filed her first report with Cornerstones, stating that she needs support, as raising the kids was too demanding. She later filed a report asking for the children to be removed.

According to the inspectorate, little was done at the time in response to the whole situation. “The necessary improvements at the family home were lost sight of and never materialized,” it said. The agency failed to cooperate and act on the warning signs, “even though they should have jointly ensured a safe and stable place for the children.”

Then, in November 2025, one of the kids had told about the abuse at school. The two children then later told a children’s court they had been beaten, forced to do heavy farm work, and that the family home father and mother allowed their dog to bite them. Earlier, another boy was reportedly transferred from the family home after reports of him being bitten and required to perform heavy physical work.