Abstract This study examines the extent to which secure residential youth care in the Netherlands complies with children’s rights as laid down in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child ( uncrc ) and the Dutch Youth Act. Residential group climate was measured with the Prison Group Climate Instrument ( pgci ), which assesses quality of group care from the perspective of the three basic needs for human self-determination: contact, autonomy and competence. Results indicate that children’s rights are a subsidiary issue in secure residential youth care in The Netherlands, because groups workers and staff have insufficient understanding of children’s rights and Dutch legislation on youth care. Dutch law allows secure facilities to make their own policy on youth care delivery, but it seems that policies are insufficiently explicit about children’s rights. Results of this study can be used to work on the fulfilment of children’s rights in secure residential youth care.