The Safe and Sound campaign claims that only a third of local authorities have policies in place for dealing with young runaways.
Just seven of the 150 authorities contacted by the society in a recent survey had fully implemented government recommendations to draw up a plan for young runaways.
Kathy Evans, head of policy at The Children's Society, said that although the Children Bill would improve protection, there was a tendency to deprioritise older children's needs. "We've seen examples of less rapid or non-existent reaction to children in their early teens," she said.
The problem was exacerbated because children forced to leave home were not always reported as missing, she added.
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