My Foster Child is Missing

Foster carers should provide a foster home which promotes a feeling of security and aims to minimise the likelihood of the child going missing.

Introduction

Whenever a child is placed with you, the child’s social worker will let you know of any previous occasions when the child has gone missing or if there is a risk they might go missing in the future.

The child’s Placement Plan should take account of any likely risk of the child going missing, and incorporate measures to reduce or prevent the likelihood of the child going missing. It should also contains information that will help find a child if they do go missing.

The care you provide should minimise the risk of the child going missing, however a child/young person should understand that they also need to take some responsibility for their own safety (dependent upon their age and understanding).

You should talk to the child/young person about the risks of running away and let them know who they can contact for support or advice in relation to this (e.g. Children’s Rights Service).

The degree of risk that a child might be exposed to by going missing will vary according to their age and vulnerability.

There may be a variety of reasons for the young person going missing and it is through communication that you are most likely to understand and be able to deal with the issues can make them want to leave. Common reasons for going missing include peer group issues, issues around contact with family or other reasons. On the other hand, the young person might not be used to people being concerned about their whereabouts and they might not understand that you are trying to keep them safe and look after them.

If a young person has gone missing when they are placed with you or before, you should look out for signs or patterns of behaviour that usually happen before they go missing. This may help you talk to them to prevent them from going.

You should be aware of what measures you can take to prevent a child from leaving without permission. The use of persuasion and your relationship is the most powerful tool that you have to prevent them going.

When a child is missing

When the child is missing but you know where they are you will need to treat the situation differently to when you don’t know where they have gone.

Where a young person is ‘not at a place where they are expected to be’ or the young person’s ‘whereabouts cannot be established and where the circumstances are out of character, or the context suggests that they may be subject of crime or at risk of harm to themselves or another’, you should make proactive attempts to locate the young person, including:

1. Physical checks of the residence, including the young person’s bedroom and any other location the young person may be hiding within the house / building;
2. Physical checks of any garden, garage, sheds, grounds and surrounding area(s);
3. Attempt to contact the young person directly, via mobile phone, text, or social networking sites (i.e. Twitter / Facebook / Whatsapp etc);
4. If appropriate (with reference to the Placement Plan contact arrangements), contact the young person’s wider family and friends to ascertain if the young person is there or has made contact with them.

Contacting North Yorkshire Police

Where these enquiries do not establish the whereabouts of the young person, the carer should report the incident to North Yorkshire Police. This should be done through 101 unless you are concerned that there is a serious concern or risk of immediate harm which would require a 999 response.

When North Yorkshire Police are informed of an incident, they will take details by asking a standard set of questions which informs their risk assessment. All reports of missing people sit within a continuum of risk from “no apparent risk” to “high risk”. The reporting person will be advised of the risk level given to the incident.

For children placed outside of North Yorkshire, you must contact the relevant local police force.

Notifying the Local Authority

Where North Yorkshire Police are notified of a missing episode of a Child Looked After by City of York Council and placed within North Yorkshire, they will notify City of York Council directly about the episode and the carer does not need to do so.

Where a young person is placed by City of York Council outside of North Yorkshire, you are responsible for notifying City of York Council of the missing episode. This is because there is no arrangement between the local Police Force and the City of York Council to do so.

Notifications should be made via email to safeguardingnotifications.admin@york.gov.uk and include the following information:

Full Name of Young Person

Placement Address of Young Person

Date Young Person went Missing

Time Young Person went Missing

Circumstances of Episode

Any known reasons for Episode

You may need to give a description of the child including what they were wearing and provide an up to date photo, details of their legal status and any other information you think will help.

You should also inform your Supervising Social Worker as soon as possible.

When a child returns

You should make a record of all incidents when a child or young person goes missing. You should also record the circumstances in which they return, the reason they give for going missing and where they say they have been. This information will help you and the social worker develop a plan to try and help prevent the child going missing again.

Where a young person returns to the placement, the Police should be notified as soon as possible by the carer that the episode is over.

The Police will then arrange to visit the young person (known as a ‘Safe & Well Check’).

If a young person is located by the Police, unless there are exceptional circumstances, the Police are likely to require the carer to collect and return the young person to the placement.

Where North Yorkshire Police locate and return, or are notified that a missing young person has been located and returned to a placement within North Yorkshire, they will notify City of York Council directly and the carer does not need to do so.

Where a young person is placed by City of York Council outside of North Yorkshire, the carer has responsibility to notify City of York Council that the young person has been located and/or returned to placement. This is because there is no arrangement between the local Police Force and the City of York Council to do so. Notifications of a child’s return should be made via email: safeguardingnotifications.admin@york.gov.uk.

The Offer of Return Interview to a young person

Whenever a young person who has been missing is located and returned, City of York Council will offer the young person the choice of either a return interview by a social worker or an independent volunteer (a Leaflet about the Return Interview is available for young people upon request) It is important that carers promote the take-up of this offer. Return Interviews provide an opportunity to uncover information that can help reduce the risk of the young person going missing again, and offer an opportunity to explore the reasons why they ran away.

If City of York Council receive notification of a missing episode, the young person will be contacted directly and offered an Return Interview. This will occur wherever the young person is placed. If a carer does not think that an Interview has been offered or there appears to be delay, please contact

safeguardingnotifications.admin@york.gov.uk to arrange for a Return Interview to be offered to the young person.

Preventing Future Missing Episodes

The child’s social worker should call a meeting to look at why the child/young person went missing to look at ways of preventing it from happening again. The child’s risk assessment may need reviewing; your Supervising Social Worker and the child’s social worker will do this with you and the child, wherever possible. This will make sure that everyone knows what actions will be taken and by who and will help to look at what can be done to prevent the child from running away again.

Whenever a child runs away from a foster home, the supervising social worker will complete a critical incident report and these will be regularly reviewed with the Missing Persons Coordinator to see if there are any lessons that we can learn as an organisation.

Definitions

There are various different terms which are used in relation to missing children:

Statutory Guidance On Children Who Run Away Or Go Missing From Home Or Care (January 2014) uses the following definitions:

Missing Child:

A child reported as missing to the Police by their family or carers.

Missing from Care:

A Looked After Child who is not at their placement or the place they are expected to be (e.g. school) and their whereabouts are not known.

Away from Placement Without Authorisation:

A Looked After Child whose whereabouts are known but who is not at their placement or the place they are expected to be and the carer has concerns or the incident has been notified to the local authority or the Police.

Young Runaway:

A child who has run away from their home or care placement, or feels they have been forced or lured to leave.

A child who has run away from their home or care placement, or feels they have been forced or lured to leave.

For the revised College of policing definition of missing and absent (no apparent risk) click here.

When North Yorkshire Police are informed of an incident, they will take details by asking a standard set of questions which informs their risk assessment. All reports of missing people sit within a continuum of risk from “no apparent risk” to “high risk”. The reporting person will be advised of the risk level given to the incident. The outcome of the risk assessment will be the guide for the police response and the level of enquiries undertaken. The police investigation will be carried out in accordance with the North Yorkshire Police Missing Persons Policy.