Responses to the Problem of Juvenile Runaways

Your analysis of your local problem should give you a better understanding of the factors contributing to it. Once you have analyzed your local problem and established a baseline for measuring effectiveness, you should consider possible responses to address the problem.

The following response strategies provide a foundation of ideas for addressing your particular problem. These strategies are drawn from a variety of research studies and police reports. Several of these strategies may apply to your community's problem. It is critical that you tailor responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify each response based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing several different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem. Do not limit yourself to considering what police can do: carefully consider whether others in your community share responsibility for the problem and can help police better respond to it.

General Considerations for an Effective Response Strategy

Although more likely to focus on minimizing the harms that come to or are caused by runaways while they are absent from home, police can also be effective advocates in efforts to address the reasons juveniles run away (e.g., physical and sexual abuse) and to improve the quality of services designed to respond to juveniles upon their return (e.g., family mediation and preservation). Most researchers and practitioners agree that social service providers, rather than police, are primarily responsible for addressing this issue. Therefore, part of the police response may be to shift responsibility to other agencies better equipped to render services to runaways and their families.§

§ Refer to Response Guide No. 3, Shifting and Sharing Responsibility for Public Safety Problems for more information.

That said, police have a legitimate role in locating juveniles reported missing and in ensuring runaways' safety when they spend time on the street.[66] Police receive missing persons reports from parents, foster care providers, and group home staff. Further, their 24-hour street presence means they are most likely to encounter runaways, whether reported missing or not. Police should partner with other agencies to address the issue effectively, and a variety of agency-level responses will be required.

Agency-Level Responses

§ The Phoenix Police Department and the Tumbleweed Center initiated an outreach program designed to reduce police time spent managing runaways and to provide immediate and long-term assistance to runaways. When police come in contact with runaways, they connect with Tumbleweed staff using a crisis line, pager, or special police radio call received by staff monitoring the radio channel. Tumbleweed staff meet juveniles at the precinct and provide emergency shelter, transportation home, and follow-up services with the family. See http://www.tumbleweed.org and Posner (1994) for more information. 

§§ See Posner (1994) for a more complete discussion of the many forms, benefits, and considerations for police-social service collaborations.

These agreements should be formalized into memorandums of understanding between police and social service agencies. In addition to specific protocols for transporting youth and providing services, these agreements can also create specific protections for confidentiality and privacy, when appropriate. Formalizing these agreements will also promote sustainability so the interagency relationships and protocols are not dependent on the individuals who created them.

§§§ Through an analysis of calls-for-service data, the Fresno Police Department found that 40 substitute care providers made a total of 1,024 calls in a single year. Five providers were responsible for 50 percent of the calls. Joint protocols and training from centers who manage juveniles' absences without police contact were employed to reduce the high utilization rates of the five providers (Fresno Police Department 1996). 

Linking foster care providers and group home staff with community police officers also has benefits: [68]

• Police get to know the juveniles informally and may have more leverage in discouraging them from running away.
• Police develop a greater appreciation for the types of problems juveniles and staff face.
• Police respond to requests for assistance more consistently and follow up more meaningfully.

• Reasons why juveniles run away from home and substitute care
• Police investigative techniques and available tools
• Child abuse reporting laws
• Policies surrounding confidentiality
• Situations when secure detention may be required to protect the juveniles from harm
• Juvenile-centered treatment philosophy and advocacy
• Locally available resources and services
• Procedures for interagency communication.

§ Adapted from Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Florida Department of Children & Families (2002).

Parents are important partners in information sharing. They have the right to access information that agency staff may not be able to obtain. Some jurisdictions obtain parents' written consent to access records from schools, social services, and other agencies.§

§ Takas and Bass (1996) provide a sample parental consent form that features clear, simple language and specifies the types of records police may use. Police should work with local agencies to ensure the form meets their requirements for accessing information. Guidelines for approaching agency staff to request information are also provided.

§§ Refer to National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (2005) for a sample policy incorporating these risk factors.

• Ages 13 and younger. Children ages 13 and younger have less sophisticated decision-making skills and cannot protect themselves from exploitation and older juveniles.[69]
• Out of safety zone for age, physical, or mental condition. This zone will vary depending on the juveniles' characteristics. Juveniles with cognitive impairments may have difficulty communicating their needs and providing information required to access help. They are particularly at risk of exploitation.
• Alcohol or drug dependent. Substance use compromises judgment and the ability to protect oneself from harm.
• At risk of foul play or sexual exploitation. The risk level will depend on the types of illegal activity occurring in the community, where the juveniles are believed to be staying, and the juveniles' past experiences and maturity level.
• Believed to be in life-threatening situation. This assessment will vary depending on the places the juveniles frequent and their experiences during past runaway episodes.
• Absent more than 24 hours before reported to police. A delay in reporting may indicate parental neglect, but could simply be a misunderstanding of the law. Many parents believe missing persons reports require a waiting period.
• In the company of dangerous companions. Some juveniles stay with older adults who may exploit their vulnerability; others associate with peers who use drugs or are involved in criminal activity.
• Inconsistent with normal behavior patterns. An out-of-character departure may signal acute distress or the possibility of foul play.

Classifying juveniles accordingly enables police to focus their resources on those juveniles at highest risk of being harmed and those most likely to commit crime while absent from home or care. Agreement from local partners about the types of cases to which police will dedicate resources also helps to promote a positive police image.

Specific Responses to Reduce Juvenile Runaways

The specific responses to juvenile runaways are organized according to time sequence—before the juveniles run away, when the juveniles depart home or care, while the juveniles are absent, and when or if the juveniles return. Many things can be done to address the reasons juveniles run away from home or care, such as offering support and guidance to parents and improving the quality of institutional care. A vast research base details the variety of family counseling, case management, and social work strategies that are effective in preventing runaway episodes, assisting juveniles and families with underlying dysfunction, and easing conflict upon return. These social service-based strategies are not reviewed at length here because police will have little direct involvement in such things.

Before They Run

§ See National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (2004), New York State, Missing and Exploited Children Clearinghouse (2001) for examples of brochures that police could offer when responding to calls for service or to a missing person report. See http://www.ontario.childfind.ca for an additional example. Click "Programs & Services" and then click the "Teen Runaway Prevention Program" link.

§§ The National Runaway Switchboard has developed a prevention curriculum for use in schools that covers coping strategies and a frank discussion of the risks juveniles commonly face when they run away. See www.nrscrisisline.org and click the “Training & Prevention” link. Then click the “Runaway Prevention Curriculum” link to download the full curriculum.

Hotlines refer juveniles to social services to
shield them from the harms involved in living on
the street. If desired, they also help runaways
to contact their parents.

When They Run

• physical description
• recent photograph
• distinguishing marks, tattoos, or piercings
• date and time last seen
• suspected destination and companions
• address of family and other known contacts
• pertinent details from previous runaway episodes
• other relevant risk factors.

Missing persons posters can help to locate juveniles.

§ See Simons and Willie (2000) and Steidel (2000) for detailed discussions of investigation techniques useful for making this determination. 

While They Are Absent From Home or Care

• Short-term shelter programs that provide safe overnight accommodations
• Drop-in services that provide food, clothing, crisis counseling, and medical attention
• Services that help juveniles contact their parents, if desired
• Counseling services for special issues such as sexual orientation, pregnancy, substance abuse, and mental illness
• Long-term counseling for family mediation and reunification
• Independent living programs for juveniles who cannot return home.

Juveniles who have run away from home or care often do not trust adults and authority figures and are easily deterred from seeking the services they need. Therefore, program credibility is essential and can be enhanced by: [75]

• Involving juveniles in the design and operation of programs
• Ensuring staff honor their commitments to juveniles
• Confronting juveniles with the consequences of running away and challenging them to take responsibility
• Ensuring confidentiality
• Avoiding labeling and blaming juveniles.

§ The Port Authority Police's Youth Services Unit patrols New York City's bus terminal in search of runaways traveling by bus (Elique 1984). The team includes a plainclothes officer is supported by a uniformed officer and a social worker who connect juveniles with a variety of services operated by social services and community-based organizations. In 2004, the Youth Services Unit made over 4,500 contacts with juveniles found loitering in the bus terminal, 225 of whom were determined to be runaways (Port Authority Youth Services Unit 2004). Rather than tying up police time to transport the juvenile, the Youth Services Unit works in cooperation with Childrens Services staff who provide transportation as needed. 

§§ The YMCA's Project Safe Place is a national network of businesses and agencies committed to providing a comfortable and secure place for juveniles to make contact with runaway service providers. Juveniles walk into a location displaying the "Safe Place" logo and are immediately put in contact with Safe Place volunteers who come to the location and help juveniles plan their next steps. Nearly 14,000 Safe Place locations nationwide have provided services to nearly 80,000 juveniles since 1983. See http://www.safeplaceservices.org/index.shtml for more information.

When or If They Return

§ Greyhound's Home Free program operates in partnership with the National Runaway Switchboard. Juveniles access the services by calling the toll-free switchboard, where staff coordinate issuing the ticket.

Responses With Limited Effectiveness