Innovation and Justification in Public Health: The Introduction of the Child Index in the Netherlands

Abstract

Two dramatic incidents, namely two murders of young girls by their parents, stimulated Dutch policy makers to introduce an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tool in the field of youth care, called the child index. This tool is expected to enable professionals to perform early detection of ‘risks’ that might threaten children’s physical, cognitive, psychological, and social development, and communicate them in order to prevent future catastrophes. In this chapter we will conduct an empirical ethical analysis of the public justification of the child index and to that end we will make fruitful use of James F. Childress’ justificatory conditions. Our analysis shows that the public justification of the child index is rather problematic. Its most salient limitations include that it is heavily based on recent dramatic incidents, it is taking a topdown managerial perspective, and it does not involve relevant stakeholders. From the perspective of Childress, this innovation in public youth care lacks adequate public ethical justification. From the analysis of this case several lessons can be learned with respect to the public justification of future public health innovations.