Page 19 - Getting it Right for Vulnerable Children and Young People in North Ayrshire

8 Research conducted by the Children’s Society highlights that young people who runaway or go missing are at a higher risk of being exposed to: Substance Misuse Offending Negative associations. Sexual Assault Children and young people may be drawn towards inappropriate activities that they find attractive and exciting. This in itself will expose young people to a range of risks and practitioners must assess the potential level of harm they could pose to young people. How to respond An assessment of the child or young person’s behaviour must be carried out while taking into account a range of factors such as the child’s age and stage of development, circumstances which may have led to the child’s flight, a chronology of events and/or concerns in the child’s life and other factors which may lead to vulnerability and risks such as associations with others who may pose a risk to the child or young person. Multiagency assessment of the needs of the child using the GIRFEC national practice model and National Risk Framework will assist in the identification of needs and risks and may help to give a clearer understanding of the antecedents leading to the child or young person’s behaviour. Single or Multi Agency Chronologies may also provide information in relation to the stimulus for their behaviour but will also be invaluable in assisting practitioners to identify patterns in this behaviour. Practitioners may want to consider the use of the Child’s Plan specifically focusing on safety for the young person which provide details of the steps that each agency is required to take, including key contacts, information which is required to be shared, and agreed timescales for reporting. Good practice would dictate that these plans are shared with the child or young person as a means to identify the risk that their behaviour may present to themselves. Where appropriate the use of a return interview when the child returns to a safe environment should take place to attempt to ascertain where the child or young person has been and other information including who they have been associating with etc. Identifying third parties, venues or locations that the child or young person is known to frequent can help practitioners to understand risk factors and put into place plans to mitigate the risk to the child or young person. 8 Gwyther Rees, Still Running 3, The Children’s Society, (2011) Getting It Right For Vulnerable Children and Young People in North Ayrshire Live V1.2 April 2014 Page No:19