Missing Children

1. Definitions

The following definitions apply and relate to children who go, or have gone, missing.

• Child:
  Anyone who has not reached their eighteenth birthday. 'Children' therefore means 'children and young people'.

• Missing:
  "Anyone whose whereabouts cannot be established and where the circumstances are out of character or the context suggests the person may be subject of crime or at risk of harm to themselves or another." (Association of Chief Police Officers, 2006).

Missing Children Risk Categories

Classification of risk and response

The definition of each relevant category (High and Medium) and what each category means in terms of police operational response is detailed below:

• High risk
  The risk of serious harm to the subject or the public is assessed as very likely.

• Medium risk
  The risk of harm to the subject or the public is assessed as likely but not serious.

The following definitions are relevant to this protocol and relate to children who go, or have gone missing.

• Accommodated: A child is accommodated if the Local Authority looks after her/him with the voluntary agreement of his/her parents or with the child if s/he is over 16 years old;
• Care Leaver: An eligible, relevant or former relevant child as defined by the Children Act 1989;
• Child: Anyone who has not reached their eighteenth birthday. 'Children' therefore means 'children and young people';
• Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE): CCE is not defined in law but is a term that has come to be associated with 'county lines'. The government definition of county lines is set out below together with further notes. It is a term, which is increasingly used to describe this type of exploitation where child is involved.  CCE occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive a child into any criminal activity:
  • In exchange for something the victim needs or wants;
  • For the financial or other advantage of the perpetrator or facilitator;
  • Through violence or the threat of violence.

The victim may have been criminally exploited even if the activity appears consensual. CCE does not always involve physical contact, it can also occur through the use of technology.  The criminal exploitation of child is not confined to county lines but can also include other forms of criminal activity such as theft, acquisitive crime, knife crimes and other forms of criminality.

• Child Sexual Exploitation: Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is not defined in law. CSE is a form of sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child under the age of 18 into sexual activity in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. CSE does not always involve physical contact, it can also occur through the use of technology;
• County lines: County Lines is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs into one or more importing areas [within the UK], using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of 'deal line'. They are likely to exploit a child to move and store the drugs and money and they will often use coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons;
• Frequent Missing Child: This is a child that has been missing and formally reported as such, 3 times in a 90-day period;
• Host local authority: The local authority in which a looked after child is placed, when placed out of the responsible local authority's area;
• Human Trafficking: the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.  Trafficked children are at high risk of going missing, with most going missing within one week of becoming looked after and many within 48 hours.  Where it is suspected that a child has been trafficked, they should be referred by the local authority into the UK's victim identification framework, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM);
• Child Looked After: A child who is looked after by a local authority by reason of a care order, or being accommodated under section 20 of the Children Act 1989;
• Missing child: A child reported as missing to the police by their family or carers;
• Missing from care: A child in care who is not at their care home or the place they are expected to be (e.g. school) and their whereabouts is not known;
• Missing person: ACPO definition: "Anyone whose whereabouts cannot be established and where the circumstances are out of character or the context suggests the person may be subject of crime or at risk of harm to themselves or another.";
• National Referral Mechanism (NRM): a national framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support;
• Repeat Missing Child: This is a child that has been missing and formally reported more than once;
• Responsible Local Authority: The local authority that is responsible for a child's care and care planning.

Absent

Children's Advice & Duty Service (CADS) Blackburn with Darwen

The Children's Advice & Duty Service (CADS) has been operational since November 2019. CADS incorporates our well-established Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).

CADS is the initial point of contact for contacts / referrals in relation to a child welfare or child protection concern.

CADS provides a robust, social work led approach to identifying vulnerable children and ensuring they are provided with the correct level of support. 

Social workers within CADS are responsible for screening all contacts/referrals in order to provide a response, jointly with our partners where appropriate. CADS ensures effective communication between key agencies where it facilitates appropriate information sharing and immediate and secure access to records and data. CADS determine whether the contact/referral requires further assessment by a Children's Social Care assessment team. CADS also identifies vulnerable children who do not meet the statutory thresholds for social care support and facilitates the signposting to other services and implementation of support via Common Assessment Framework (CAF) where appropriate. 

2. Residential Homes/Short Break Services

Missing from Home/Placement Protocol

If a child indicates that they propose to leave without consent, staff should in the first instance speak to them about this, and try to encourage them to stay.

It is imperative that staff always show care and concern, even when they are sure that a child is going to leave. Staff should take all reasonable steps to prevent children from leaving, especially if it will result in the child or others being at risk of significant harm. As a last resort, this can include the use of physical restrictions such as the locking of doors to prevent the child from leaving or using Physical Intervention.

Staff should ensure that children are aware of the dangers they may face if they run away and should suggest where they may go for help if they feel like running away. It is important that staff show care and concern for the young people living in the home. Preventive work is vital, for example if you know that a young person is worried about something (such as a difficult meeting) take the time to talk to them specifically about this. Staff should help young people develop alternative responses to stressful situations in their levels other than running away. Residential Care Professionals must show 'professional curiosity' when looking at risks/vulnerabilities and the levels of risks involved for each child. Risk not process will always drive what actions need to be taken and deemed necessary to protect and safeguard the child.

Residential care/short breaks staff must follow the missing from home process within the young person's Individual Risk Management Plan.  This is in respect of the actions to take when a child goes missing from their home/placement.

The Individual Risk Management Plan should include strategies for preventing the child from going missing and what actions need to be followed in the event that a young person does go missing from their home/placement.

Residential Care staff will take reasonable steps to locate the child and ascertain their safety. The police expect that staff will undertake the following basic measures to try and locate the missing child prior to contacting the police.

This includes:

• Searching the home/placement?
• Trying to contact the missing child?
• Contacting family and associates?
• Checking known addresses and places frequented?
• Checking social network sites?

A time frame is recorded within the Individual Risk Management Plan of an agreed time that the young person will be reported missing to the police. This is based on individual needs and risks identified within the plan.

If the child is considered to be at significant risk of harm, then the police should be contacted immediately and continue to follow the missing from home process. If there are risks related to any of the measures below, this risk should be discussed with the police to identify an appropriate response.

Once initial checks and time frame considered and the child is known to be 'missing', the police should be informed without delay.

When notifying/informing the Police (in the area where they have gone missing e.g. if on an activity away from the home), social worker and others e.g. Youth Offending Worker/Team, it is vital to provide information about the circumstances and risk factors that led to the child going missing. It is also important to discuss possible strategies for finding and recovering the child safely, and the actions the home have already taken to try and locate / contact the child. Agreement should also be reached about others who may need to know the child is missing e.g. the child's parents.

The Police will require the following information:

1. A description of the child, possibly a photograph;
2. When the child was last seen and with whom;
3. Family addresses;
4. Other addresses of people the child may make contact with;
5. Any previous history of the child going missing.

The Police, social worker and others notified must then be updated as circumstances change including if the child returns.

If the child is known to have a Trigger Plan, this should be passed to the police on report of the missing child. This will enable Lancashire Constabulary to make a quick risk evaluation on each child and make a decision based upon that as to the classification.

Where a child has an allocated Social Worker, the reporting person should then inform Children's Social Care by contacting the allocated Social Worker, if known, or Emergency Duty Teams (EDT) if the missing episode occurs outside of 9-5 working hours.

Parents/carers will also be notified and the reporting person will confirm that the child has been reported missing.

Residential Staff will then complete a missing person's report on LCS, this is stored under 'forms' on the Residential Work Space. This is an open document that can be added to, until the child has been located. Safe and well checks will be carried out, return to home interviews completed and Management Oversights before the form can be finalised. This will then stay on the child's LCS record.

Once a child is recorded on the CONNECT police systems as a missing person, Children Social Care will be advised, via the automated system, that the child is officially recorded as missing. A copy of the risk assessment will also be forwarded.

Sharing Information

It is incumbent upon all parties that work in the area of Missing Children, to pro-actively share information and highlight to all relevant parties working with the child and family, the details of missing person episodes and the associated risks. This includes agencies statutory and voluntary agencies and private businesses with responsibility for care settings. Open lines of communication are vital in order to maximise the provision of Safeguarding to the individual. The guidance as per Working Together to Safeguard Children should be adhered to.

Information sharing protocols are in place and on most occasions, these will be sufficient to ensure that the information needed in order to keep a child safe is known to the correct parties.

Locating the Child

Staff will continue to locate the child and return them to the home/placement. Staff will focus on promoting their welfare taking into account their legal status, age, understanding and the level of vulnerability posed to them or and significant others. If a child doesn't want to return to their home/placement, staff must consult their manager (who will then consult the child's social worker) or, in an emergency/where the child or others are seriously at risk, call the Police and EDT. The use of physical interventions, such as restraint should only be used in a last resort where there is an immediate risk of significant harm, serious damage to property and staff are confident that such interventions will work/de-escalate the situation and make the child safe. If this outcome is not likely, they should leave the situation and immediately consult their manager or the Police.

The way staff respond to young people when they return is key to preventing future missing episodes and to ascertain any harm they may have experienced. When young people return they should be welcomed back and asked if they want anything to eat or drink. The Police will conduct a Safe and Well interview to conclude their investigation.

The Police, social worker/EDT, Parents/Carers who were notified that the child was missing must be informed when the child returns.

Children will also be provided with contact details for an independent advocate/Customer Care Information.

'Return Interviews'. Statutory Guidance (DfE; 2014) on children who run away or go missing states that when a child is found or returns to their home or placement, they should be offered an Independent Return Interview within 72 hours of their return. (DfE; 2014:14). Guidance states that this should be an in-depth interview that is best carried out by an independent person – someone not involved in caring for the child. The 'Engage' team will provide a member of staff to complete this with the Child.

Risk Assessments, Monitoring and Notifications

When the child returns, all those notified that the child was missing must be informed.

'If a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation' then Ofsted will need to be notified (Reg 40).

The child's Individual Risk Management Plan will be updated following any Missing from Home episodes.

In the event a child has had three missing episodes in 90 days a Missing from Home Risk Management Meeting needs to be convened by the social worker and include: missing person coordinators; parent/carer and child; and other relevant multi-agency professionals involved in the support plan. In the event concerns are raised before this time, a meeting can be held subject to professional judgement upon the level of risk associated with that child. This risk management meeting should address the following:

• Push/ Pull factors of the missing from home episodes;
• Any safeguarding concerns and interventions required;
• Any hotspots of concern;
• Information from return interviews and what we can do to prevent that child going missing again;
• The child's voice and their wishes and feelings;
• Creation/updating of trigger plan;
• When the plan needs to be reviewed.

Through a multi-agency forum, a decision should be made at this meeting, when a review meeting of this plan should be reviewed and the timescale for this. In the event that there is an escalation of concerns prior to this meeting (give examples) this meeting can be brought forward.

The Missing from Home risk management meetings can be incorporated within another multi-agency meeting and do not have to be held separately away from these.

Ensuring the child's participation in these risk management meetings are key and therefore children should be invited where possible however in the event they do not wish to or its not appropriate for them to attend, creative solutions on seeking the child's voice should be considered by the chair of the meeting. Professionals should ensure that sensitive information and intelligence is not discussed in the presence of the child or parent/carer.

Social Workers to chair Missing from Home risk management meetings and where concerns continue or the safety of a child during missing episodes increase, then the Team Manager or the Senior/Service Manager should be invited to attend the next risk management meeting for management oversight.

A Strategy discussion should only be requested if there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. This might take the form of a multi-agency meeting or phone calls and more than one discussion may be necessary. The purpose of the Strategy Discussion must be for the Local Authority responsible for that child to determine the child's welfare and plan rapid future action.

Strategy meetings for missing children should be held after a period of 48 hours. In the event there are immediate concerns before this then a strategy meeting can be arranged prior to 48 hours dependent on the level of risk associated with that chid. In the event professionals do not feel a strategy discussion is required for a missing child after 48 hours, the matter will require Team Manager Oversight as to why this decision has been made. Follow up strategy discussions and the timescale for this should be decided within the initial strategy and be decided by the key professionals involved with that child and the level of risk involved with the child's missing episode.

When a strategy meeting is arranged for a child that is missing, the strategy request should be sent to the relevant BCU Referral Manager.