Missing Children

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is a key duty on local authorities and requires effective joint working between agencies and professionals. When a child goes missing or runs away they are at risk. Safeguarding children therefore includes protecting them from this risk. Local authorities are responsible for protecting children whether they go missing from their family home or from local authority care.

Children may run away from a problem, such as abuse or neglect at home, or to somewhere they want to be. They may have been coerced to run away by someone else. Whatever the reason, it is thought that approximately 25 per cent of children and young people that go missing are at risk of serious harm. There are particular concerns about the links between children running away and the risks of sexual exploitation. Missing children may also be vulnerable to other forms of exploitation, to violent crime, gang exploitation, or to drug and alcohol misuse.

The Jigsaw4u Missing and CSE Project offers Return Home Interviews to all young people reported missing in London Borough of Sutton. The project receives referrals from the police once the young person has been located or returned to home or care. Practitioners undertake return home interviews and will offer ongoing support to all young people who are in need of further support to reduce missing episodes.

The interventions we offer include keep safe work, education around CSE, mediation, counselling, therapy based support, understanding healthy relationships, self-esteem and confidence building and addressing the triggers that lead young people to go missing from home or care.  

The project also receives referrals from social care through our spot purchase referral pathway to undertake direct child sexual exploitation interventions to young people at risk of or have been a victim of CSE.

Please contact Sharon McCann on 0208 687 1384 for further information. See link below for further details.