Agenda item

RECEIVED a report updating the Committee on the key factors involved and the multiple risks associated with, Children Who Are Missing.  The report was included in the agenda pack (pages 19 to 23). 

NOTED that

• The reasons that children go missing from home and missing from care were largely the same and the reasons for absconding from care often related to: Being unhappy; feeling that the placement was not meeting their needs; bullying in the placement; not feeling listened to; or they had been encouraged or groomed to leave the placement by those who exploit vulnerable children and young people. Similarly, the reasons children go missing from home included there being interpersonal relationship difficulties with their carers or other family members.

• Often cases needed to be seen in the broader context of recurrent instances of going missing and some of the more frequent cases often involved; CSE, gang affiliation and  cannabis use.  

• One of the key risks identified was the increasing use of missing children to transport drugs along a several established routes for example:  London – Wrexham, Hull, Southampton, and Norwich.  Integral to this is that they were also vulnerable to gang and criminal activity which was associated with a chaotic lifestyle and had implications for their sexual, physical and emotional health.

• In terms of actions taken to identify and reduce risk, there was an established protocol when children go missing from care; which included a referral to the Police MISPA Team, and a strategy meeting at which information was shared and action planned. There was also weekly tracking meeting of children who are, or have been missing from care, between the DCS and Lead Member.  On their return to care, a de-briefing interview was undertaken by the police MISPA Team in order to ascertain the reason behind the missing episode. A Return to Care Interview was undertaken by the CYPS Targeted Support Team.   Performance had been poor in this area and a contract with an external provider had been negotiated.

• The Multi-agency Sexual Exploitation meeting (MASE) convened on a monthly basis and its key purpose was to produce and develop a detailed strategic overview of the CSE profile for the borough of Haringey.The CSE profile would enable the MASE meeting to coordinate tactical responses to direct diversionary and disruption measures in identified problem areas. Partner agencies, such as the police,  share intelligence and information relating to CSE activity  to inform mapping, analysing the profile of CSE in the borough,  generating intelligence for investigations and identifying any trends or problem locations to ensure they were dealt with. The Service Manager Children in Care clarified that the MASE included all the relevant partner agencies including the schools.

• More recently the Missing Children and Child Exploitation Operational Panel had begun meeting every three weeks. This is a multi-agency forum which had the purpose of agreeing multi-agency safety plans for children who were missing/ engaging in risk-taking behaviour which was escalating their vulnerability and risk from all forms of exploitation. There remit included:

• In response to a question from the Chair, the Service Manager Children in Care clarified that foster carers still had a responsibility to report missing Children i.e. those over the age of 18, but that the level of involvement from different agencies was much less and the missing from care protocol would not be applicable, for instance. The Council still had a responsibility for children missing from care until they were 24.