8.2.10 Children Missing from Home and Care

This chapter was updated in the March 2010 update.

The London Safeguarding Children Board
Definitions
Children Living in the Community
Looked After Children
Conclusion

Appendix 1 - Report of Missing Young Persons Form

1. The London Safeguarding Children Board

1.1

The London Safeguarding Children Board has developed the London Child Protection Procedures which detail accepted best practice in the area of child protection and can be accessed by clicking on the London Child Protection Procedures button on the left hand side of the screen.

1.2

The London Safeguarding Children Board has produced a supplementary procedure

Safeguarding Children Missing from Care and Home

1.3

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight those practice situations experienced in YOS work where consideration needs to be given as to whether a child is to be considered missing and to identify the appropriate actions and interface with partner agencies. It should be read in conjunction with the London Child Protection Procedures and, in particular, Safeguarding Children Missing from Care and Home.

2. Definitions

2.1	Missing: The London Child protection Procedures define a child (i.e. a young person under the age of 18 years) as ‘missing’ if their whereabouts are unknown, whatever the circumstances of their disappearance. They will be considered missing until they are located and their well-being or otherwise is established.
2.2	Unauthorised Absence: Some children absent themselves from home or care for a short period and then return, often their whereabouts are known or may be quickly established through contact with family or friends or are unknown but the children are not considered at risk. Sometimes children stay out longer than agreed as a boundary testing activity which is well within the range of normal teenage behaviour. These children have taken 'unauthorised absence', and would not usually come within the definition of missing. 'Unauthorised absences' must be carefully monitored as the child may subsequently go missing.
2.3	Children who are most vulnerable to going missing from care and home include those missing school, Looked After Children and asylum-seeking children. The local authority, police and other agency response to an asylum seeking child going missing should be exactly the same as for all other children, whether they are looked after or living in the community

3. Children Living in the Community

	Prevention, Recognition and Response
3.1	The YOS may be the first agency to discover that a child is not currently living at home. This may be as a result of A child failing to attend court and the remand officer, when following up, being advised by the parents that the child is not at home Information passed to YOS staff through the course of an intervention.
3.2	If a child fails to attend court it is likely that a warrant with or without bail will be issued. Nevertheless if a YOS worker has been advised that the child is not or has not been at home, then this Children Missing from Home and Care procedure should also be followed. The police need to be aware should the young person be picked up on a warrant that he or she has also been absent from home and that there may be child protection issues which will inform the criminal justice process.
3.3	If the YOS is the first agency to be alerted to a child's absence from home it should, together with the child's parents, decide whether the child is having an 'unauthorised absence' or is 'missing'. Where parents are reporting that a child is staying at a different address they should provide details to the practitioner and enquiries should be made. The Private Fostering Procedure may be applicable depending on the length of stay.
3.4	There is an expectation that parents will report their child is missing. Failure to do so may be a child protection issue and practitioner staff should consider a referral to the Children and Families Referral and Assessment Team on that basis - see Referrals Procedure contained in the London Child Protection Procedures.
3.5	The police are the lead agency for the investigation of missing children.
3.6	Parents may need support in reporting their child as missing to the police. They should have the following information available: A description of the child (name, date of birth, physical appearance) A recent photograph, if possible When the child was last seen and with whom Family addresses Known acquaintances The name and address of the child’s GP and dentist The Police will want to search the address at which the missing child was last seen, this should be negotiated so as to cause minimum disruption to the child’s family home
3.7	Where the YOS practitioner believes the young person is at risk of serious harm a referral should be made to Children and Families Referrals and Assessment Team (a verbal referral followed by a written referral within 48 hours) - see the Referrals Procedure contained in the London Child Protection Procedures.
3.8	If the young person is an open case to the YOS, the Report of Missing Young Persons Form (Appendix 1) should be completed and passed to the Police and to the Children and Families Referral and Assessment Team as part of the above referral. If the child is also an open case to Children and Families, then the completion of the document should be negotiated. The professional with the most recent and detailed knowledge of the young person and the family should complete the form
	Strategy Meeting/Discussion
3.9	For any child who is missing from home, a Strategy Discussion/Meeting should be held within 28 days, arranged by Children's Social Care Services and the police invited (if the child is subject of a Child Protection Plan, then officers from the Missing Person's Unit and the Child Abuse Investigation Team, or if not then the Missing Persons Unit only).
3.10	When a child is found, the risk indicators will be considered. For the critical few that are deemed at risk, a Strategy Discussion/Meeting will be held between appropriate agencies
3.11	A police officer will interview all children upon their return, to establish what happened while the child was missing and whether there is any allegation of crime. An independent review will offered to the young person by an independent professional who does not usually work with the young person. This must take place within 72 hours and give the child the opportunity to discuss any concerns about their care.

4. Looked After Children

4.1	Children and young people known to the YOS may be Looked After on welfare grounds or may be Remanded into local authority accommodation as part of criminal proceedings. Young people who are remanded into local authority accommodation are looked after children within the meaning of Part III of the Children Act 1989 (section 22(1)).
4.2	Under the London Child Protection Procedures, an assessment of the child’s risk of absenting themselves should take place prior to a child being placed. In the remand scenario this may not be possible but should be carried out as soon as possible after the remand. The YOS may have knowledge which can inform this assessment and the YOS worker, who may be the case holder, duty officer or remand worker, should liaise with the social worker to ensure all the relevant information is available.
4.3	Where a child does go missing from care Children’s Social Care Services will be the responsible authority in terms of providing the necessary information to the police, completing the required documentation and keeping parents and guardians updated where appropriate. The role of the YOS staff will be to notify the social worker of any information that they may receive regarding the missing child and participate in any Strategy Meetings that are called.
4.4	The YOS will also have a role in feeding back to the court any information with respect to the child’s ‘missing’ status and vulnerability which may impact on the court’s current and future decision making.

5. Conclusion

5.1	Children who are also young offenders are still vulnerable to harm. Should a child go missing during criminal court proceedings actions will be initiated through criminal justice mechanisms; however these are not an alternative to any child protection procedures that may need to be implemented.
5.2	A child’s legal status or ethnic or cultural group should not be the sole factors under consideration when assessing the risk to the child; rather each case should be looked at individually using the London Child Protection Procedures as a framework for both assessment and intervention.

Appendix 1 - Report of Missing Young Persons Form

Click here for Appendix 1 - Report of Missing Young Persons Form

End