Vulnerable young runaways are not always able to access the services they need, with some groups left at risk of drugs, crime and sexual exploitation, warns a report by The Children's Society and the University of York.
But the research, which evaluated 19 pilot projects funded by the Department for Education and Skills, found that schemes targeting specific groups, such as looked-after children, younger runaways and Black and minority ethnic children, had the most success.
"When children ran away the projects had already built up a relationship with them so could offer support," said The Children's Society head of research, Gwyther Rees.
Approximately 129,000 children run away from home every year, and the projects achieved a 42 per cent success rate. Early interventions worked well, with good results reported for first-time runaways and runaways who had been away from home longer. But the report points to groups still falling through the net, including older runaways - 14- and 15-year-olds - who class themselves as "staying away", not running away, and children forced to leave home.
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