Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Running or Missing from Home or Care (RMHC)

Children who decide to run away are unhappy, vulnerable and in danger. They could be at risk of, or may be being sexually exploited, bullied and or involved with risk taking behaviour. Sometimes children and young people are not running away but running to what they perceive to be a better place. They are not always aware of the risks they may face.  As well as short term risks to their immediate safety there are longer term implications as well with children and young people who run away being less likely to fulfil their potential and live happy, health and economically productive lives as adults. In July 2009 the Government published new statutory guidance setting how local authorities and agencies should respond when a child or young person goes missing.

A Tees Missing or Running from Home and Care Protocol was agreed by the four LSCB's (Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees).  This is backed up by a local procedure, both of which can be found below.

These determine the roles and responsibilities when a child goes missing, what to do when they return and also includes:

• an agreed definition of a missing or runaway child or young person;
• an agreed inter-agency framework for classifying the degree of risk when a child goes missing from home or when a missing young person comes to agency notice;
• guidance on the threshold for referrals to social care;
• where CAF would be beneficial and the parents/carers agree, details of who should carry out a CAF and how this information should be shared, where appropriate;
• the basis on which agencies offer 'Return interviews' for children who have run away from home; and
• details of preventative approaches.

Return interviews for children and young people missing from both home and care are a crucial element in exploring the reasons they ran away and instances where the young person has run away from care, referring on, or linking into, care planning as appropriate. Where there is the possibility that the young person has runaway or gone missing as a result of child protection concerns the local authority in liaison with the authority responsible for the child's placement and in partnership with the police will undertake relevant investigations and assessments in line with LSCB procedures.

A separate process operates in Stockton-on-Tees for Children who go missing from Education.

Further information relating to Children and Young People who runaway or are missing can be obtained below.