4.1.23B Children Missing from Home and Care |
Contents
1. Introduction
This Procedure is based on DCSF guidance issued July 2009 and is designed to support an effective collaborative multi agency safeguarding response to children and young people go missing who are missing or have gone missing from home and care.
It aims to provide guidance for assessing the risk of children and young people missing from home and care.
The procedure sets out the actions required to locate the child, to affect their return and to identify the issues which caused, and may continue to cause, the child/young person to go missing.
2. Why Children go Missing
Research has shown that every year approximately 77,000 under 16 year olds go missing overnight in England. Peak ages for going missing are between 13 and 16 year old and a quarter are under 11 years old (Children's Society, Still Running 1999/ Social Exclusion Unit (SEU), 2002).
The Children’s Society through its research has identified the following risk factors that can precede a missing incident:
- Arguments and conflicts
- Poor family relationships
- Physical and emotional abuse - Domestic Violence / Abuse
- Step parent issues
- Boundaries and control
The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a key mechanism to assisting agencies to identify and respond effectively to these risk factors and going missing should be seriously considered as a possible outcome of these risks, and appropriate support put in place to prevent any potential missing incidents.
Although in many cases young people who go missing from home are already known to agencies and in receipt of support before they run away, all agencies need to be able to recognise and respond to risk factors that could lead to missing incidents.
The immediate risks associated with going missing include:
- No means of support or legitimate income - leading to high risk activities
- Involvement in criminal activities
- Victim of Abuse
- Victim of crime, for example through sexual assault and exploitation
- Alcohol/substance misuse
- Deterioration of physical and mental health
- Missing out on schooling and education
- Increased vulnerability
Longer-term risks include:
- Long-term drug dependency / alcohol dependency
- Crime
- Homelessness
- Disengagement from education
- Child / YP sexual exploitation
- Poor physical and/or mental health
3. Principles
Any missing episode is potentially serious, one runaway is one too many. Therefore prevention work relating to children going missing is of paramount importance.
The prevention of children and young people going missing requires an integrated multi agency approach to vulnerable children and young people underpinned by effective partnership working, information sharing, problem solving and performance management best achieve effective interventions.
Existing prevention strategies will need to include the prevention of children going missing from home and care and will include:
- The safety and welfare of the child/young person is paramount
- Every individual has a duty to inform the authorities if a child/young person is missing
- Locating and returning the child/young person to a safe environment is the main objective
- The wishes and feelings of child/young person should be sought and taken into account in reaching any decisions about the provision of services which affect them.
- Child Protection Procedures will be initiated whenever there are concerns that a child/young person who is missing may be at risk of Significant Harm
- Notification to the Police will only take place following a Risk Assessment and in clearly defined circumstances as set out in this Procedure
- The Police will act on any report of a child/young person missing on the understanding that a Risk Assessment has been completed.
- Every ‘missing’ child/young person who returns will be interviewed by someone other than the direct carer.
- Where a child is known to Children's Social Care or meets the threshold for referral to Social Care, an assessment will be undertaken and services provided to meet the needs of the child/young person.
- Monitoring and reporting of missing from home incidents.
- Support to parents via the Parenting Strategy for Coventry.
- Multi agency assessment procedures, including CAF, should include the risk indicators for running away.
- Consistent implementation of this procedure by all agencies.
4. Definitions
The following definitions apply to this procedure and relate to children and young people under 18 years old who go or have gone missing.
The definition of running away is taken from the SEU Young Runaways report (2002) and includes reference to young people who self-define running away as being forced to leave because, for example, they do not believe they have any alternative.
- Missing: ACPO Definition: “A missing person is anyone whose whereabouts are unknown, whatever the circumstances of disappearance. He or she will be considered missing until located and his or her well being, or otherwise, established.
- Runaway: A child/young person, who is absent from their home or placement without permission for any length of time where their age and experience, background and ability make this a concern or who has been forced to leave by their parents or carers. In terms of the steps which need to be taken to locate these children and safeguard their welfare, this Procedure includes them as ‘missing’ children.
- Absconded: When a child/young person has gone missing who is subject to legal orders such as secure orders. Police must be made aware of the order under which the child / young person has been placed in the residence and the expiry date of the order for the child / young person to be classified as an absconder. If the expiry date of the order is not known, the child / young person will be classified as a “missing person” not an absconder.
- Unauthorised absence: Absent for a short period of time and after a careful and thorough risk assessment the absence does not raise concern for their immediate safety or that of the public In accordance with the ACPO Manual of Guidance 2005 this period of absence should not exceed 6 hours.
This category is critical to the clarification of roles of the Police and Children’s Social Care Services. 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. These children have taken ‘unauthorised absence’, and would not usually come within the definition of ‘missing’ for this Procedure. If a child/young person’s whereabouts are known then they cannot be ‘missing’.
Where a looked-after child’s whereabouts is known or thought to be known but unconfirmed, they are not missing and may instead be considered as absent without authorisation from their placement. This includes a child/young person who is suspected of being harboured.
Unauthorised absences must be carefully monitored as the child/young person may subsequently go missing.
- Looked After: A child/young person is looked after by a local authority if s/he is “in care” by reason of a court order, or if s/he is provided with accommodation for more than 24 hours by agreement with her/his parents or with the child/young person if s/he is aged 16 or more.
- Accommodated: A child/young person is accommodated if the Local Authority looks him after with the voluntary agreement of his/her parents, or with the child/young person if s/he is over 16 years old.
- Child: A child/young person or young person under the age of eighteen years.
- Police SPOC: Single Point of Contact.
5. Other Procedures
This procedure should be used in conjunction with the Coventry Safeguarding Children Board Interagency Procedures and these provide information to assist staff to recognise and/or manage circumstances in which children/young people, who are missing, may be experiencing harm or be at risk of harm. These include:
- Children in whom illness is Fabricated or Induced Procedure
- Children and Forced Marriage Procedure
- Children and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Procedure
- Abduction by family or others
- Children involved in Prostitution Procedure
- Child Trafficking and Exploitation Procedure
Child Abduction
Where a child has been abducted or forcibly removed from their place of residence, this is a 'crime in action’ and should be reported to the police immediately.
Forced Marriage
Some young people run away because they are at risk of abuse. Forced marriage in particular can lead to young people running away from home. Further guidance and information can be found at Children and Forced Marriages Procedure Children and Forced Marriage Procedure and the FCO website.
Grooming for Potential Sexual Exploitation
In some cases, young people may run away or go missing following grooming by adults who will seek to exploit them sexually. Evidence suggests that 90 per cent of children subjected to sexual grooming go missing at some point.
The supply of drugs and alcohol or the offering of gifts may be used to entice and coerce young people into associations with inappropriate adults. Both girls and boys are at risk of sexual exploitation.
Looked-after children may also be targeted by those wishing to abuse and sexually exploit them, and encouraging these children to run in order to disrupt their placement is often part of this abuse. Young people living within residential care units are particularly vulnerable to being directly targeted in this way.
Children not receiving a Suitable Education
Children not receiving a suitable education are defined as children of compulsory school age who are not on a school roll, and are not receiving a suitable education otherwise than being in school, for example, at home, privately, or in alternative provision.
Children Missing from School
Children who are missing from school may also be missing from care or home and at risk. Education staff should follow the Children Missing from Education Procedures.
If a member of Education staff becomes aware that a child/young person may be missing, they should try to establish with the parents or carers, what has happened. If this is not possible, or the child/young person is missing, the Designated Child/Young Person Protection Teacher should, together with the class teacher, assess the child/young person’s vulnerability and based on the assessment they may refer the matter to Children's Social Care Services and to the Police.
If it comes to the notice of a member of Education staff that a child/young person who was missing, has returned, that member of staff should establish whether Police or Children’s Social Care Services were involved in returning the child/young person to their home and if not, inform Police and/ or Children’s Social Services.
Asylum Seeking Children
The response to an Asylum Seeking child/young person going missing should be exactly the same as for all other children, whether they are Looked After or living in the community.
There are complex issues facing Asylum Seeking children. Information about some children’s whereabouts is not always maintained due to the transient nature of their accommodation arrangements. Agencies must however, be alert to the fact that some children are trafficked into, within and out of the UK for custom related reasons, to be abused and exploited for commercial gain, including through sex, for domestic servitude etc.
6. Children Missing from Home
Responsibility of the Alerter: Parents/Carers, Agencies/Voluntary Sector
Parents (and carers) are expected to undertake the following basic measures to try and locate their child /YP if considered safe to do so:
- Search bedroom / house / outbuildings / vehicles
- Contact known friends and relatives where child/ young person may be
- Visit locations that the child/young person is known to frequent, if it is safe to do so
- All children who go missing from home should be reported to the Police
Significance of Children Missing from Home
Children living in the community are often well known to range of services including Accident and Emergency Services, Schools and other Education establishments or the Youth Service.
There is an expectation that parents/ guardians will report their child/young person is missing. Failure to do so may be raised as a safeguarding issue.
In responding to and managing an individual child/young person’s absence from home or care agencies should be alert to the potential significance of repeat missing episodes by a child. Often children who repeatedly go missing are viewed as ‘a problem’ and insufficient consideration is given to the reason why they keep absenting themselves
Children and young people, who go missing under the age of 16 are not legally considered as being able to live independently away from home. For Children and Young People over the age of 16, consideration should be given to their physical and emotional needs when making a judgment as to whether they can live independently away from home
7. Quick Reference Guide - Missing from Home Address
Click here to view Quick Reference Guide - Missing from Home Address (Flowchart).
8. Missing from Care
Research shows that children looked after by the Local Authority are over-represented in the cohort of children who go missing on repeat occasions.
Care providers, both local authority and private sector, should inform the local police force of any new children’s homes being established to enable local policing procedures/policies to be prepared should children subsequently be reported missing from such an address.
8.1 Responsibilities of the Alter
When a child or young person goes missing from care it is expected that their carer(s) will act in their capacity as a ‘good parent’. This means that:
- When a child or young person is reported missing, the local authority and the police have a joint responsibility for protecting the well being of the individual. The act of reporting a child or young person missing to the police does not absolve the parents/carers from their duty of care to the individual, and parents/carers must take proactive steps to trace the child’s whereabouts.
- Children/young people must not be reported missing as a behaviour management tool.
Every reasonable effort will be made to locate the child/young person prior to them being reported to the police and throughout the length of the enquiry. This should include local searches, and making early contact with family and friends to establish his/her location.
8.2 The Care Plan
As part of the assessment, planning and placement of each Looked After Child/Young Person consideration must be given to the vulnerability and risk of the child or young person becoming missing and the decisions about the range of actions to be taken should this occur
Prior to each accommodation arrangement for a looked after child, the social worker must consider within the assessment and care planning process all potential risks to the Child/Young Person and where the assessment identifies missing episodes prior to becoming "looked after" and / or the potential for them to go missing, a Risk Assessment should be undertaken on admission to care.
8.3 Risk Assessment
Individual risk assessments are an essential part of keeping children safe and they enable staff/carers to be clear what the risks are for the particular child or young person and/or the risks they pose for the public.
When a child/young person goes missing, the local authority will decide upon which category of absence applies to the child or young person.
Staff will use the Risk Assessment- for Children and Young People missing from home/care (see Appendix 1: Risk Assessment for Children and Young People missing from Care and Home) to assist in making this decision.
The child/young person and her/his parents/carers (if appropriate) should be involved in the risk assessment and this should address the following factors:
- Child’s view on current placement/stability of their relationships at home
- Level of supervision/support that care staff propose to provide for the child/young person
- The degree of risk to the child/young person if they go missing.
- The views of parents/carers on their child’s needs and the action that needs to be taken if their child/young person is missing
- Consideration of any external influences which may result in a child’s removal without consent (See other procedures e.g. Child Trafficking and Exploitation Procedure)
- It should be explained to the child/young person what actions will be taken if he/she absents him/herself without permission.
The Emergency Duty Team (EDT) should always be informed by the Social Worker (or the Residential Home / Foster Carer at weekends and Out Of Hours) of all those who are missing for a period of 24 hours.
If the child or young person has gone missing from foster care and the Risk Assessment- for Children and Young People missing from home/care has not been completed in advance, then the foster carer must contact the child’s social worker/duty social worker or emergency duty team (if it is out of hours), who will assist completion of the risk assessment and advise on reporting the child/young person to the Police.
8.4 Record of the Risk Assessment
Where considered appropriate, the child/young person should be given a copy of this Risk Assessment.
A copy of the Risk Assessment should be recorded on the child’s file in all agencies working with the child.
All information should be included in the placement plan and in the child’s care plan. The care plan should inform the decision as to which placement will be most suited to meeting the child’s needs.
Where there is a risk of a child going missing, the placement plan and care plan must include details of how and when physical restraint will be used by care staff. As part of this assessment it may be appropriate for Coventry City Council to consult with the police to share information that may be of relevance.
8.5 Review of Care Plans
All Care Plans must be kept under review and should be reviewed and revised, as appropriate, at Progress Meetings, Placement Reviews and Looked After Reviews.
The Looked After Review meeting, chaired by an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO), should consider the plan for the welfare of the child, monitor the progress of the plan, and make decisions to amend it as necessary in light of changed knowledge and circumstances.
Where children have gone missing from their placements, then their statutory review will provide an opportunity to check that their care plan has been appropriately amended to address the reasons why the child/young person was absent and includes a strategy to prevent re-occurrence should the child/young person go missing in future.
It may be necessary to convene a review to consider whether the placement is able to put in place a strategy to minimise any risk to the child, or whether it may be necessary to look for an alternative placement in order to keep the child/young person safe.
9. Notifying the Police and other Relevant Agencies
Where the risk assessment indicates that there is a high risk of a child/young person going missing, it is good practice for social workers and foster carers to provide the information that the Police and other agencies will need to locate the child/young person if they do go missing in advance. These are outline in Section 9.2, Information to be made available to the Police below and should also be provided at the time of reporting a Looked After child/young person missing.
The Police should be notified as soon as possible as soon as carers / staff or a foster carer realise that a child/young person is missing. Relevant agencies must provide sufficient information to the Police to enable all the risk factors to be considered. The Police will conduct an investigation into all reports of ‘missing’ children.
When a child or young person becomes absent without leave the relevant Police station will always be contacted and informed. The level of the assessed risk will be stated at the time as this will determine the response required from both agencies. In all cases, the social worker must be notified as soon as practicable by the carer.
9.1 Category of Absence
Proper consideration needs to be given to whether the child’s circumstances are an ‘unauthorised absence’, or whether he/she is ‘missing’. The agency first alerted to the child’s absence should (together with the child’s parents, if the child /YP lives at home), decide whether the child/young person is having an ‘unauthorised absence’, or whether s/he is ‘missing’.
In order to inform this judgement the agency should (together with the child’s parents, as appropriate), attempt to locate the child/young person and encourage him/her to return as quickly and safely as possible, ensuring s/he is treated positively on return.
9.2 Information to be made available to the Police
When reporting a missing child/young person to Police (or other agencies, as appropriate), the person making the referral should provide to the Police as much information as possible.
The Police will want to search the address at which the missing child/young person was last seen, this should be negotiated so as to cause minimum disruption to the child’s family home/residential unit/foster carer’s home. The minimum information should be:
- Name of the person missing, include aliases, nicknames
- Age and date of birth
- Description of the person: (Include gender and ethnicity)
- Description of missing person's appearance (including clothing)
- Recent photograph of missing person - it is advised that photographs are taken regularly especially if the hairstyle/ colour has been changed.
- Are they an asylum seeker, if so what is their immigration status.
- Home address (if the person is in the care of an external agency does a protocol apply)
- Location missing from if different from above
- Mobile phone numbers of missing person
- Vehicles or transport used by missing person
- Access to money / details of debit or credit cards
- Details of medication / illness
- Address of GP and dentist
- Circumstances of going missing
- Is the behaviour out of character
- Are there cultural issues e.g. possible honour crime
- Has this happened before and details of previous incidents
- Name, address and telephone number of person reporting
- Details of any known acquaintances
- Has the location from which they went missing from and home address been searched?
- Identify dangers in the immediate vicinity especially for vulnerable young missing persons e.g. ponds, rivers.
9.3 Working with the Police
Police are the lead agency for the investigation of missing children.
If the child/young person is a Looked After child/young person then Children’s Social Care Services are responsible for children in their care at all times and this responsibility is not absolved when a child/young person is reported missing to the Police.
Appropriate risk assessments allow the Police to be confident that all children reported to them as ‘missing’ fit the agreed criteria.
Until such time as a child/young person is no longer missing, regular liaison and communication should take place between the Police and referring/involved agencies, including the Social Worker and management of the placing Authority, for a Looked After child/young person.
10. Photographs
Should a child/young person go missing it is vital to the safe recovery of the child/young person that a recent photograph of them is made available.
The photograph must be a good likeness of the child/young person, and the date the photograph was taken should be endorsed on the back of it to identify its relevance to the enquiry. The photograph will be used by the police to help them identify the child or young person whilst conducting enquiries.
In very serious cases, where the child/young person is believed to be at severe risk, the police and local authority may decide to use the photograph more widely, including publishing the photograph to national or local media, and circulation on the Police / ICMEC (see Missing Children website).
On admission to care, the consent of a person with parental responsibility will be sought for a photograph to be used in any subsequent missing person investigation. If possible the consent of the child/young person should be gained.
The children’s home manager/foster carer should consider the most appropriate ways to meet the above requirements and should ensure that the child/young person is made aware of what will happen if they go missing, including their right to be interviewed by an independent person on or prior to their return, and be given a choice as to who that may be.
They should be given information leaflets and contacted details of advocacy services / other services that they can access or that can be accessed on their behalf.
11. Quick Reference Guide - Missing from Care
Click here to view Quick Reference Guide - Missing from Care (Flowchart).
12. Children who go Missing during External Activities
If a child goes missing during an external activity arranged by the residential home (or in a comparable situation), the person in charge of the activity will:
- Notify the local Police in that area
- Notify the child’s parents
- If the child/young person is a Looked After Child, notify those who care for / have responsibility for the child/young person including the child's social worker and the Emergency Duty Team for Local Authority which holds case responsibility for the child
- Notify a senior manager at the residential home
- Institute a local search if staffing levels permit.
- The senior manager at the residential home will be responsible for ensuring that the procedures in relation to a missing child are followed.
- The senior manager of the home and the person in charge of the external activity will decide whether the party should return to the home, and when.
- Communication regarding the missing child/young person must be maintained between all those who have been notified and the Police (where the child/young person normally resides)
13. Children for whom there is a Child Protection Plan who go Missing
Children who have a Child Protection Plan or who are subject to a Section 47 enquiry need additional action to that required for other children. The Social Worker must:
- Notify the Local Authority Designated Manager for Children Subject to Child Protection Plans; the Independent Reviewing Officer; Primary Care Trust’s Designated Nurse; the Police Child Abuse Investigation Unit and the Core Group members
- Ensure that a Strategy Meeting is arranged, as soon as practicable and in any event within 5 working days, the social worker should arrange a strategy meeting if the child/young person is still missing. Representatives from both the Police Missing Persons and Child Abuse Investigation Unit should attend the strategy meeting, as well as other practitioners involved with the child.
- Where a child/young person with a Protection Plan has gone missing with/without their family, Children’s Social Care Services must implement the national Notification of Missing Children/Persons Procedure.
- If these enquiries prove unsuccessful the local DWP office should be asked to search local and national records for any information.
- The Child Benefit Agency on 0845 302 1444, for any information they can supply. The key worker must ensure that all information resulting from these enquiries is collated.
- If the child or children/young person or people has/have not been located as a result of these enquiries within seven days of the family notifying they have gone missing, the Key Worker and the Safeguarding Children Service should consider the need for an urgent Child Protection Review Conference be convened must be given.
- In any event A Child Protection Review must be held within four weeks of the family going missing and this review Conference will determine what further action should be taken to ensure the safety of the child and family.
14. Looked-After Children trafficked from Abroad Reporting and Responding
Some of the children that a local authority looks after may be unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC), and some of this group may have been trafficked into the UK and are likely to remain under the influence of their traffickers, even whilst they are looked after.
The assessment of need to inform the care plan will be particularly critical in these circumstances. The assessment must seek to establish:
- Relevant details about the child’s background before coming to the UK;
- An understanding of the reasons that the child/young person came to the UK;
- Analysis of the child’s vulnerability to remaining under the influence of traffickers.
In conducting this assessment it will be necessary for the local authority to work in close co-operation with staff in the UK Border Agency (UKBA) who may be familiar with patterns of trafficking into the UK. UKBA staff should be able to advise on whether information about the individual child/young person suggests that they fit the profile of a potentially trafficked child.
The care plan should include a risk-assessment as to the likelihood of a UASC going missing in the same way that the care plan might for any other child/young person believed to be at risk of going missing from their care placement. Given the circumstances in which potentially trafficked young people present to local authorities, the process of assessment and related risk-assessments will need to be sensitively managed.
Provision may need to be made for the child/young person to be in a safe place before any assessment takes place and for the possibility that they may not be able to disclose full information about their circumstances immediately.
The location of the child/young person should not be divulged to any enquirer until their identity and relationship with the child/young person has been established, if necessary with the help of police and immigration services.
15. Reporting and Responding
When it is discovered that a child/young person has absented him/herself without permission from a placement, staff will refer to the child/young person’s individual risk assessment in considering whether the child/young person is “unauthorised absent” or “missing” as defined by these procedures. In cases of doubt the home manager or manager on call will be consulted. (see Appendix 3: Categories of Absence for Children and Young People who go Missing from Care) defines the categories of absence for children who go missing from care.
The fact that the child/young person may have gone missing on a number of previous occasions does not reduce the risk. In fact, children/young people who repeatedly go missing are often being enticed away from their placement by activities that they see as exciting or by predatory influences. Furthermore, short absences may be as risky as lengthy ones.
However, at some point, depending upon the child/young person and the circumstances, the child/young person’s absence will give rise to justifiable concern and require a formal missing person report to the police. Whilst there can be no substitute for a considered judgement, based on a sound assessment of the child/young person and the circumstances, it is the purpose of this framework to assist carers to structure their thinking with regard to the two categories of absence
15.1 Reporting
The decision to report a child/young person as missing should not be taken in isolation, staff should consult with the senior staff member on duty and foster carers should liaise with the young person’s social worker or Emergency Duty Team staff.
Any decision should incorporate information from the child/ young persons’ risk assessment. The situation should be kept under constant review and changes in circumstances taken into account. If the young person is receiving support from CAMHS professionals, Educational Psychologists and so on, it may be advisable to discuss the case with them.
However, if they are not readily available a decision must be made on the basis of the best available information.
In cases of doubt it may also be appropriate to discuss the case with a local police supervisor.
Whoever discovers that a child/young person is absent without permission from their placement with foster carer or the manager on duty in the children’s home must ensure that the following individuals and agencies are informed within the timescales.
Notification is likely to be by phone in the first instance followed up by written confirmation to
- The local police;
- The local authority responsible for the child’s placement
- The child’s social worker.
- At the point where the responsible authority is informed, agreement must be reached as to which professional will be responsible for informing the child’s parents
- Parents and any other persons with parental responsibility must be informed as soon as possible that their child/young person is missing unless there are good reasons connected with the child’s welfare for this to be inappropriate.
A record must be made as to when parents have been informed, and what information has been given to them.
15.2 Responding
Where, initially, the decision was made that this absence does not fall within this procedure this decision will be reviewed every hour throughout the period of unauthorised absence (to a maximum of 6 hours) if the child does not return or his/her whereabouts are not known.
If such a period of absence continues for 6 hours it will automatically be considered to fall within missing from care procedures. This is the maximum period; and in most situations much shorter periods will be appropriate.
Children who fall within the category of ‘unauthorised absence’ must be the subject of continuous risk assessment whilst they remain absent. The child’s parents must be kept informed.
Where, initially, the assessment indicates that the child’s circumstances are an ‘unauthorised absence’, they should take all reasonable and practical steps, which a good parent would take, to secure the safe and speedy return of the child/young person e.g. visiting addresses where the child/young person may be or telephoning around known friends.
If during a period of unauthorised absence, the informant becomes aware of the location of the missing person, he/she should make every effort to have the missing person return to the place of residence without police involvement, unless there are safety issues, in which case a report should be made to the Police.
If the child or young person is subject to a care order, and refuses to return voluntarily with the agent of the care provider, then Police assistance may be requested. The Local Authority should actively consider approaching the courts for a Recovery Order in these circumstances.
If the child or young person is “accommodated”, then a risk assessment is to be undertaken in consultation with the Local Authority, and if police attendance is warranted, the use of a police protection order is to be considered if there is an immediate risk present. The use of a police protection powers order should be jointly considered by police and children’s services.
Whilst notifying the police of the absence of a child or young person is an essential part of the overall process, having done so does not absolve carers of their corporate parenting responsibilities for the child, and such carers should take all necessary actions to attempt to locate the missing person, including where possible, searches of the missing person’s room within the residence, immediate searches of the local area, and making contact with the missing person’s family and friends to establish if the missing person is with them, or has been seen since by them since the time that the person was identified as being absent.
16. Conducting the Missing Person Investigation (Home and Care)
West Midlands Police (Coventry)
When reporting an absence, police call handlers in the first instance will want the following information that staff should make available:
- Name of the person missing, include aliases, nicknames
- Age and date of birth
- Description of the person: (Include gender and ethnicity)
- Description of missing person's appearance (including clothing)
- Recent photograph of missing person - it is advised that photographs are taken regularly especially if the hairstyle/ colour has been changed.
- Are they an asylum seeker, if so what is their immigration status.
- Home address (if the person is in the care of an external agency does a protocol apply)
- Location missing from if different from above
- Mobile phone numbers of missing person
- Vehicles or transport used by missing person
- Access to money / details of debit or credit cards
- Details of medication / illness
- Address of GP and dentist
- Circumstances of going missing
- Is the behaviour out of character
- Are there cultural issues e.g. possible honour crime
- Has this happened before and details of previous incidents
- Name, address and telephone number of person reporting
- Details of any known acquaintances
- Has the location from which they went missing from and home address been searched?
- Identify dangers in the immediate vicinity especially for vulnerable young missing persons e.g. ponds, rivers.
Upon receiving a report of a child or young person being absent from care or missing from home, West Midlands Police will carry out enquiries (which are proportionate to the perceived risk) aimed at locating the child/young person as soon as possible.
Whilst missing persons aged less than 18 years are automatically classified as “Vulnerable Missing Persons”, this is not an indication of risk.
A risk assessment will be carried out for each individual on every separate occasion they are reported missing to the Police. This risk assessment, conducted by the Initial Investigating Officer, and subsequently confirmed or revised by his or her supervising officer will form the basis for the subsequent investigation into the person’s disappearance. The risk assessments for Children’s Services Social Care and the Police have been aligned.
When a police officer arrives to obtain further details this role is investigative and is not simply the recording of details for the missing person report. Any judgements that are made at this stage will have a significant effect on the progress of the investigation.
Police will:
- Establish the facts, gather sufficient information about the missing person for an effective investigation and informed decision making.
- Where appropriate they will consider using the services of Interpreters or language line to assist information gathering.
- Establish the family composition, history, any previous police or other agency involvement with the family. Have they gone missing before, whether or not reported to the police?
- Establish the last sighting of the child and the circumstances of the disappearance are crucial. Do not delay any action required to facilitate the immediate recovery of the missing child.
- Seek assistance to complete urgent enquiries/actions where this may be critical for the safe return of the missing child.
In addition to the points asked initially by the police call handler, officers will further ask:
- Details of any travel pass that child may have; details of savings accounts; family addresses,
- Known acquaintances; any previous history of absconding; name and phone number of social worker; details of any court order; the name and address of child’s GP and dentist;
- Any circumstances which might increase the risk to the child
- Obtain statements from the reporting person and relevant witnesses.
- Police will complete form WG428
- Obtain a recent photograph. The informant should sign the rear of the photograph to endorse its validity, include the name of the missing person, date of birth if known and the approximate date the photograph was taken.
- Obtain permission for publicity and make sure that the WG428 is endorsed accordingly.
- Conduct a thorough search of the place missing from and its surroundings.
- Conduct a search even if carers have already done so. Include all rooms, cupboards and furniture where a person could hide or could have been hidden, attics, cellars, outhouses, garages, garden, grounds and all vehicles. Any area which is not searched due to lack of ready access will be recorded for action/review by a supervisory officer.
- Officers will need to see and obtain a copy of any Care Orders. This could be helpful in determining police action and powers should the person be traced.
- The last page of the WG428 ‘Information for the Family/ Person Reporting’ will be handed to the person who is the point of contact for the police.
- Consider the possibility that the child / young person may have been admitted to hospital either unconscious or having given false details, they may also give false details if taken into custody.
17. Police Risk Definitions
| Risk | Definition |
| High | The risk posed is immediate and there are substantial grounds for believing that the subject is in danger through their own vulnerability , or may have been the victim of a serious crime, or the risk posed is immediate and there are substantial grounds for believing that the public is in danger. |
| Medium | The risk posed is likely to place the subject in danger, or they are a threat to themselves or others. |
| Low | There is no apparent risk of danger to either the subject or the public. |
Further Action
In addition to the notification of absence specified above, the following action should be taken in all cases where a child /young person is ‘missing’.
- The child’s parents should be informed
- Police investigation will be initiated.
- Children’s Social Care Services must convene a Strategy Meeting
- Where the child is placed outside the City boundaries the LSCB procedures of the areas in which the child is place should be followed
- In high risk cases the Manager of the Residential Unit should notify the registration authority (Ofsted)
- Social Workers should inform, their managers, the Head of Service and the Independent Reviewing Officer
18. Longer Absences - Intervention Strategies
All agencies will operate an escalating system of interventions to reduce the likelihood of a child repeatedly going missing.
Intervention meetings should take place in the event of repeat episodes of children going missing from home and care. These meetings should be multi agency and hold the status of Strategy meetings with clearly identified purpose and attendance. The meeting should be held within 7 days of any the following trigger episodes.
The child’s school should always be informed, they may have valuable information which would assist in establishing his/her whereabouts. Any such information should be passed immediately to the Police.
The meetings should be chaired by the Team Manager or Senior Practitioner and recorded and the increased levels of concern reflected in the seniority of those attending as follows:
After three missing episodes within a 30 day period, three episodes in twelve months or one episode of three or more days: Social worker (if currently working with the child), local police officer, residential worker/ foster carer /parent, school representative and any other relevant professional or partner agency.
This meeting should try to identify any ‘push’ or ‘pull’ factors as well as any other agencies that could provide support. In the case of ‘pull factors’ it may be necessary to target those in the community who harbour the missing person or exploit them with regards to crime, sex or drugs. The meeting should also establish which other agencies are already involved in working with the child/young person.
After seven missing episodes within a 30 day period or one episode of 7 days or more: The team manager (chair), from Children's services, Police Sgt, Children’s Home manager / family placement manager (as appropriate), parent / carer, representative from health and / or education and any other relevant professional or partner agency.
Meetings at this level should only be required for a small number of children/young people provided that the protocol has been followed with regard to earlier intervention meetings and return interviews.
All agencies who attend/are invited to this meeting are responsible for ensuring that there is a clear statement of the actions being taken in respect of the child/young person’s absence and should satisfy themselves that all that should be done is being done.
In addition to seeking to reduce future missing episodes and reduce any apparent risks to the child/young person, this meeting should also quality assures compliance with the protocols and the efficiency of earlier intervention meetings and return interviews.
It is recognised that there will be some children/young people who go missing repeatedly within a short period of time where this level of intervention will immediately apply.
- If the child/young person is still missing (for over seven days), there should be a further discussions should be had between the senior managements of all the relevant agencies. This is to review the action taken, agree further actions including a debrief of the person when found and proposals to prevent a reoccurrence if appropriate.
All Police missing person’s lists will remain “live” until the person is traced.
- If the missing person has not been located after three months, a Senior Investigating Officer will review the file, after consultation with the OCU Operations Manager.
As part of that review process a senior manager in Children’s Social Care Services or equivalent in responsible partner agencies, should formally review all cases where children/young people have been absent for three months or more and should satisfy themselves on the actions taken by all agencies in the attempt to recover the child to recover the child.
Other Risk Factors demanding escalated Interventions include:
- Any case where the risks involved in even a single future missing episode is very high.
- Cases where it has been identified that immediate action is necessary to ensure the well being of the person.
For Looked After Children or those known to Children’s Social Care Services, whilst the child/young person remains absent, his/her case should be identified as ‘open’ on the Children’s Social Care Services client database.
All Police missing person’s files will remain ‘live’ until the child/young person is located and returned to their home, or whose circumstances are considered to be appropriate.
19. Prosecution of Individuals Harbouring Children
Anyone who ‘takes or detains’ a runaway under 16 without lawful authority may be prosecuted under Section 2 of the Child Abduction Act 1984.
Perpetrators of these offences will often harbour runaways exposing them to risk of harm. In more serious cases where the abduction of a child/young person is apparent or suspected and the circumstances give rise to the immediate personal safety of that child, research has shown that the first five hours can be critical if the person is to be found alive.
Any details of suspected perpetrators must be given to police even if no prosecution is brought to enable police to serve the perpetrators with a warning notice in relation to child /YP abduction and harbouring as a prevention tactic and to assist in any later prosecutions. Parents can also issue harbouring notices.
Although the welfare of the child/young person is the first consideration, attention must be paid to the seriousness of the offence and the likelihood of repetition.
Where children and young people are persistent runaways and continue to be harboured by the same individual consideration should be given to prosecution under the Child Abduction Act 1984.
For Children Looked After, Children’s Social Care and Police in consultation with the Local Authority’s legal advisers and the Crown Prosecution Service should consider this action jointly.
20. Publicity and Media Strategy (Home and Care)
It is the responsibility of the Police to advise the media regarding any missing child or young person.
For a child/young person who is missing from home, the parents and the police will liaise with the child’s parents about informing the press.
Where there has been an agreement to using the media, the police will take a lead role in informing / advising the media.
Decisions to inform the media will be taken, when all inquiries have been exhausted and following an updated risk assessment determining the level of risk as being high by the police and Children’s Social Care at a senior level (Inspector and Integrated Service Manager).
The decision to use the media to recover a child/young person or young person is usually the last resort. The outcome of the risk assessment will guide the police and Children’s Social Care response and the level of enquiries to be undertaken including media publicity.
Where the child or young person is missing from care, the decision to publicise by press and/or television will always be made in consultation with the child’s social worker and the Assistant Director, Children's Services
Such publicity will be arranged at local level, by direction of the Divisional Commander (or nominee). Prior to any publicity the child’s social worker will be informed in order to allow the parents to be informed.
Additionally the police will automatically inform the “Missing People” charity of all high risk missing persons within 4 hrs of them being reported, Medium risk missing persons within 72 hrs of them being reported, and Low risk missing persons within 14 days of them being reported.
The police may also utilise the website facility of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (see Missing Children website) to publicise the child or young person.
21. Recording
If a child/young person’s absence continues beyond a few hours and falls within this Procedure, all agencies should note their discussions, decisions, actions taken and messages received/given.
The child/young person’s Social Worker (or other agreed key worker/lead professional) should keep a single agreed record on the child’s file and update all relevant electronic systems.
Residential Unit Staff and Foster Carers should record the information in the daily log/diary, with a duplicate entry for the child’s file (e.g. photocopies).
22. Missing People Charity
Local Authorities in England and Scotland together fund the charity’s Missing from Care Team which provides a specialist service to Children’s Social Services when any of their ‘looked after’ children go missing, including asylum seeking children. This working arrangement with local authorities forms the basis of an information sharing agreement with Children's Services.
The Missing People Charity is dedicated to helping missing people, their families and those who care for them. It has information sharing agreements with the police. The confidential 24 hour Helpline 0500 700 700 is free and takes calls from families and police reporting missing people.
The Runaway Helpline 0808 800 70 70 is a national 24 hour freefone helpline for anyone who has run away or been forced to leave home. Confidential advice is given, referrals made to other organisations and it can help a child or young person get to a place of safety or pass on a message.
23. Planning for when the Child/YP is Located and their Return
If a child/young person is ‘missing’ the Police and parents, Social Worker, Residential Unit Staff/Foster Carer and Police should commence contingency planning for when the child/young person is located. Plans should include:
- Will the child/young person return to the placement/home address or are they safe in the location where they are found?
- If the child/young person is to return, how will s/he be conveyed to their placement/home address?
- Do the Police wish to interview the child/young person where they are located or after they have returned their placement/home address?
- Who will be an appropriate ‘independent person’ to talk to the child/young person when s/he is located / returned?
Children/young people who have repeated ‘unauthorised’ absences should also be offered an independent person to talk to. For example, this should be considered when a set number of absences are exceeded in a given period (such as 3 occasions in 28 days).
Normally the Residential Unit Staff/Foster Carer or Social Worker/Emergency Duty Team out of hours will make arrangements for the transportation of a child/young person to his/her placement/home address.
The police are however not given the power to use force to take children into Police Protection. There will be occasions when a child/young person is found in a location that may be considered unsuitable, but where there would be no legal grounds for taking them into police protection or where to do so would be unsustainable because of the child/young person's unwillingness to co-operate.
In these cases police and the accountable manager from Children’s Social Services will need to liaise to discuss what steps may be necessary in order to safeguard the child’s welfare.
24. Interviews when a Child or Young Person is Located or Returns
Parents and carers must be immediately informed that the child/young person has been found
The locating agency will remind the child/young person and the parent/carer that they will be spoken to by the police, the purpose of this interview being to confirm their well being, and to discover whether they have been the victim of any crimes whilst missing.
The locating agency should ensure that on the child's return, his/her medical condition is discussed with the child/young person and his/her parents / carers immediately, and an offer made to arrange medical attention if necessary.
24.1 Police Interview
The Police will conduct a “Safe and Well” return interview for all children reported missing. It will not be conducted over the telephone, and it must only be conducted by an appropriately trained Police Officer. Return interviews are not to be conducted by Police Community Support Officers (PCSO's).
The interview consists of a simple series of questions about where the child/young person was whilst missing, where they went, what they did, who they were with etc. If the child/young person makes an allegation of crime that occurred whilst they were missing or that contributed to him/her running away, the Police will record this allegation and take appropriate action.
If there are already concerns in existence relating to the care establishment that the child or young person has been absent from, or their home circumstances, the police officer must highlight such concerns to the Public Protection Unit (PPU) / Child Abuse Investigation Unit (CAIU) who will submit the referral to the Referral and Assessment Service or the allocated Social Worker ( as appropriate)
Where children missing from home or care are identified outside of their home authority, the “receiving” and the home authority will need to negotiate so that the child or young person may be linked back into appropriate local services.
If any information is gathered during the course of enquiries which indicates a child / young person is at risk on their return home, the Police and Children’s Social Care must be informed immediately, so that they may take appropriate action
Where a child/young person has gone missing from their family home for 3 or more occasions the Police may call a strategy meeting to discuss further actions required.
When the child/young person is located by agencies other than the Police, or returns to their home address, the attending adult (parent / guardian / carer) is to notify the Police of the child/young person’s return (and location) without delay.
A risk assessment should be carried out by Police (and Social Worker) to ensure that it is safe for the child to return to their placement/ parental home.
The Police will inform the Integrated Youth Support Service (IYSS) when the child/young person has returned in order for the Youth Worker to arrange the return interview.
24.2 Independent Return Interview
Children/young people should be informed that they will be expected to talk about their absence to someone independent of their parents/carers on their return. Providing children/young people with an opportunity to talk is key to safeguarding them.
The independent return interview will be conducted by a Youth Worker from the Integrated Youth Support Service (IYSS). The IYSS staff to whom the referral is made should contact the young person, as soon as possible, to arrange the return home interview.
For Looked After Children placed outside of the City, the Social Worker will arrange for the return interview to be undertaken in line with the local arrangements / services resources. However where local arrangements for return interviews are not in place the Social Worker will be responsible for conducting the return interview
The interview should take place within 72 hours of receipt of notification that the child / young person has returned.
The young person, if they want, can ask to be accompanied by a responsible adult of their choosing. If they would like to be accompanied by a responsible adult but cannot identify someone who they are happy with to accompany them, someone trained in this type of support work should be available to fulfil this role.
The venue for the interview should be agreed with the young person. The venue can be neutral, for example, at school or a Youth Centre near to the young person's home.
The interview should:
- Identify and deal with any harm the child/young person has incurred (his/her medical condition should be discussed immediately and any need for medical attention assessed)
- Identify if the child/young person has been the victim of, or involved in, any criminal activity
- Understand and address the reasons the child/young person ran away (the child/young person’s living arrangements/placement might need to be reviewed)
- Try to avoid it happening again
The return interview may indicate that the child/young person and their family/carers require additional support to meet the child’s needs and prevent further episodes.
The child/young person should be advised that the findings from the return interview will be referred to a Multi-Agency Screening Panel.
25. Multi-Agency Screening Panel for Children Missing from Home/Care
The Multi-Agency Screening Panel will meet formally on a regular basis. The Panel's role is to consider information from both interviews (mentioned above in Paragraph 24.1, Police Interview and Paragraph 24.2, Independent Return Interview).
Panel membership consists
- Police,
- Representatives from Looked After and Referral Assessment services functions
- Multi Disciplinary Teams. CAF co-ordinates
- Integrated Youth Service
- Youth Offending Service
- Education
The panel will identify additional support (including that available from other agencies), or suggest that they are assessed under the Common Assessment Framework (CAF). This is in order to put a support package in place to reduce the risk of future missing episodes.
If the CAF indicates the child may be at risk of significant harm, Coventry Interagency Procedures will apply.
A record is completed in respect of all cases referred and actions identified. The Panel also monitors the completion of any actions that it has identified.
26. Monitoring
Managers of children’s residential units are expected to maintain records of each occasion when a Looked After child/young person is identified as ‘missing’ or having taken ‘unauthorised absence’. These records should be made available for inspection.
Social Workers and Foster Carers should record similar information. The records should include:
- The child/young person’s name and date of birth
- If possible, a recent photograph of the child/young person
- Date and time the child/young person was reported missing or absent
- A care plan addressing how the risk are to be managed
- Category of absence (‘missing’ or ‘unauthorised’)
- Whether the Police were informed and the concerns conveyed to the Police/reasons for not informing the Police
- Whether the Social Worker was informed
- Action taken by Social Worker
- The date and time the child/young person returned
- The outcome of the independent interview with the child/young person on their return
The Staying Safe subgroup of the Children and Young Peoples Strategic Partnership is the lead body and will monitor:
- Implementation of "missing from home and care" protocols and procedures
- Reporting information about patterns of absence among looked after children
The Coventry Safeguarding Children Board will:
- Receive regular reports about children and young people who go missing in the City.
Appendix 1: Risk Assessment for Children and Young People missing
from Care and Home
Appendix 2: Return Interview
Click here to view Appendix 2: Return Interview.
3. Appendix 3: Categories of Absence for Children and Young People who go Missing from Care
| Unauthorised Absence | Usual Action |
Absence for a short period of time Sometimes it may be known or suspected where the child/ young person might be |
|
| Missing | Usual Action |
| Concern includes where the child/young person’s location is unknown and/or the reason for absence is unknown and there is cause for concern because of their vulnerability or there is a potential danger to the public. |
|
| Absconded | Usual Action |
| For example where the child/young person is considered missing and is also looked after as a result of a court order. |
|
After assessing risk, you must now agree the category of absence. This decision should be taken in consultation with the on-call manager or accountable social worker or EDT worker, as it will determine what action will be taken. If a child or young person is in care and on unauthorised absence, the agreed interval of six hours before reporting to the police should be seen as a maximum. In many cases a shorter period would be appropriate. If the child or young person does not return within the agreed interval and there is no additional information that reduces risk, or if there is information that increases risk, the child or young person needs to be reclassified as missing/absconded, and necessary action taken. This decision should be taken in consultation with the on-call manager or EDT social worker. |
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End