Time and again, former employees contact RTL regarding their experiences, which Céline Spithoven is now illustrating in her behind-the-scenes series.
The National Socio-educational Centre (CSEE) is a social structure under the Ministry of Education located in Dreiborn, Schrassig and Burglinster. Minors are placed here by the court if they can no longer live with their family or are serious offenders.
As of July 2023, 83 minors were placed at one of the three locations. Dreiborn houses the closed unit for severely delinquent youths (Unisec). Schrassig is the semi-autonomous residential site for boys, as well as a contact point for new arrivals or drop-ins. The third site, Burglinster, houses delinquent girls since their relocation from Schrassig in 2020. The twenty additional minors benefit from a measure of leave, that is to say, for example, that they spend the weekend with their family.
Currently, 224 people work at the CSEE, of whom almost 150 are educators, psychotherapists and teachers. Dreiborn alone employs 29 full-time educators and psychotherapists, as well as a private security company. The latter, however, were only employed year ago due to security staff refusing to renew their two-year contracts.
The socio-educational centre made headlines last year, especially after a rebellion in Dreiborn where six youths had rioted and injured police officers. In response, Charel Schmit, ombudsman for children and youth, criticised the very concept of the CSEE. He sees a general need for reform due to too many deficits surfacing.
However, the CSEE is not only subject to external criticism. Time and again, former employees contact RTL regarding their experiences, which Céline Spithoven is now illustrating in her behind-the-scenes series. To protect the witnesses, all interviewees remain anonymous.
Further articles in this series are to follow.
