Support for children who run away from care put under the spotlight
Janaki Mahadevan
Monday, March 19, 2012
Two parliamentary groups have launched an inquiry into the support available to children who run away or go missing from care.
The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on looked-after children and care leavers and the APPG for runaway and missing children and adults want to establish a clearer picture of local and national responses to children in care who go missing or run away, what support is available to them and what effective interventions look like.
The inquiry will look at looked-after children who are placed away from their home local authority, data collection and information sharing, police responses and the role of inspection and assessment. It will also hold a separate session on how to safeguard trafficked children who have gone missing from care.
Martin Houghton-Brown, chief executive of charity Missing People, said: "We wholeheartedly welcome this inquiry. Children who are in state care need good corporate parenting and this inquiry aims to get to the bottom of why children who are looked after are much more likely to run away from their state parents than children from home."
The APPG would like to hear from children and young people with experiences of being looked after and running away or going missing, local authority children’s services, voluntary organisations, police, fostering organisations and any other interested organisations.
Natasha Finlayson, chief executive of The Who Cares? Trust, which acts as the secretariat to the APPG for looked-after children and care leavers, said: "Now, more than ever we need the government to take action, as the number of children taken into care in England has hit a record high. These are some of the most vulnerable children and young people in the country today. Without the proper support these children will be at risk of exploitation and harm.
The deadline for receiving written evidence is 23 April. Email ruby.peacock@childrenssociety.org.uk
