Valies: Finance Ministry must pay Kennedy Stichting subsidy

The Kennedy Stichting, which among other things provides care and accommodation for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, says it is facing serious financial problems. There are currently 24 children staying at the boarding facility. The foundation is largely dependent on government subsidies, but has not yet received its subsidy for 2026.

According to Valies, further processing now lies with Financiën. “The ministerie van Sociale Zaken does not make payments. Once the ministerie van Sociale Zaken has fulfilled its administrative obligations, it is the ministerie van Financiën’s turn,” he told Key News on Tuesday.

He stated that the so-called receipts for the subsidy have already been processed and are with Financiën for payment approval. After the Kennedy Stichting sounded the alarm again, he tried to contact Financiën to find out where the process stands.

“We at Sociale Zaken have already completed everything relating to the subsidy,” Valies stressed. The minister of Sociale Zaken had also reportedly contacted her counterpart at Financiën.

‘Not acceptable’

The foundation’s staff had not yet received their salaries on October 6. Valies says he understands the dissatisfaction.

“That is not acceptable. Everyone who works must receive their salary on time. And on time means no later than the last day of the month. It cannot be that we are at the beginning of the following month and staff of an organisation have not been paid.”

According to him, the problem does not concern only the Kennedy Stichting. Subsidies for other institutions are also awaiting further financial processing.

Valies explained that Sociale Zaken is facing understaffing, but that employees have worked hard in recent months to prepare and forward subsidy applications from both private and government institutions administratively.

“The ministerie van Financiën must act,” the director said.

Concerns over children’s care

The financial problems have now affected the staff. According to information put to Valies during the interview, staff members had worked until around 10 a.m. on Tuesday and then left because their salaries had not been paid. This raised concerns about the care of the 24 children staying at the boarding facility.

However, Valies stated that the boarding facility has not been closed. He had been in contact with the management of the Kennedy Stichting before the interview.

“The boarding facility is not closed. Options are being considered,” he said.

He said he would consult again with the minister of Sociale Zaken and wait for a response from Financiën. Valies expressed hope that the payment could still be processed on Tuesday or, at the latest, Wednesday.

Subsidy insufficient

In addition to the delayed payment, the amount of the subsidy also plays a role. The Kennedy Stichting has indicated that the current government contribution is no longer sufficient to cover increased operational costs.

Valies acknowledges that subsidies for many institutions are insufficient to finance their full operations.

“The subsidy is absolutely nowhere near sufficient,” he said.

According to the director, at least thirty institutions receive government subsidies, and because of limited financial resources, “choices and trade-offs” must be made.

He invited the Kennedy Stichting’s management to meet with the ministry to provide clarity on the current cost structure.

“If the Kennedy Stichting says: operational costs have increased, then I invite them so they can state here: these are the costs we have every month. Then we must see how we can communicate and handle that with Financiën.”

At the same time, Valies stressed that institutions should try to generate more of their own income and not depend exclusively on government subsidies. However, he acknowledged that economic conditions and rising costs are making it increasingly difficult for social institutions to keep their services running.

According to him, the ministerie van Sociale Zaken is also looking at how the administrative procedure for subsidies can be shortened and organised more efficiently.