VUB Professor Frank Van Holen awarded prestigious Filson Steers Mariman Prize

Recognition for a bridge-builder between science, policy, and practice in youth care

©️ Frank Toussaint

The King Baudouin Foundation has awarded the biennial Filson Steers Mariman Prize to VUB Professor Frank Van Holen for his exceptional contribution to foster care and youth welfare in Flanders. The prize honors his long-standing commitment to bringing science, policy, and practice closer together with the goal of improving the lives of vulnerable children, young people, and (foster) families.

Van Holen is Director of Foster Care Policy for Flemish Brabant and Brussels, guest professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), and an active member of the Centre for Research on Youth and Child Welfare (COJO). His work is deeply rooted in both practice and policy, and his research on foster care and Nonviolent Resistance contributes to structural improvements within the youth care system.

“This award highlights the social impact of Frank’s work and research,” says Professor Johan Vanderfaeillie, Dean of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at VUB. “His dedication perfectly reflects the university’s core values: openness, connectedness, and social responsibility.”

Van Holen sees the award primarily as a collective recognition: “This is not a prize for me alone, but for everyone I’ve had the privilege to work with and especially for the foster parents who are there day and night to offer children a warm home.”

The €60,000 prize money will be invested in research on sleep problems among children placed in out-of-home care, an issue that has received little attention in youth welfare so far. His work focuses on challenges such as insomnia, bedwetting, and nighttime restlessness, which have a major impact on children’s development and well-being. In the next phase, he aims to develop a trauma-informed intervention to improve sleep hygiene and restore calm in their daily lives.

“This prize is not just a recognition but also a lever to put a forgotten issue on the map,” Van Holen concludes. “Sleep is not a luxury, it is a basic condition for well-being and recovery.”

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