The information provided in this tip details the steps that are required when a child is missing and what is required within the first 24 hours. The following steps relate to any child under court-ordered supervision, in both out-of-home care and in-home care, and those children under investigation or receiving judicial or non-judicial case management services.

Step 1: The Child Welfare Professional will notify their Supervisor and the Missing Child Point of Contact immediately.

Step 2: The Child Welfare Professional will begin to make efforts to locate the child, including but not limited to, contacting friends, relatives, school, employer, etc. and document efforts in FSFN. (Note type: Missing Children-Attempt to Locate)

Step 3: The Child Welfare Professional will notify local law enforcement to have a missing child/runaway report taken IMMEDIATELY under the following circumstances:

• The child is under the age of 13.
• The child has been identified as a victim of human trafficking.
• The child is believed to be out of the zone of safety for the child’s age and/or development.
• The child is mentally incapacitated.
• The child is in a life-threatening situation.
• The child is in the company of others who could endanger the child’s welfare.
• The child is absent under circumstances inconsistent with established patterns of behavior.
• The child has a medical or mental health condition that puts the child at high risk.

For children ages 13 and older that are not high risk, they may not have to be reported as missing/runaway to law enforcement for a period of up to 4 hours. During this time, valid efforts to locate the child are required and need to be documented in FSFN within 48 hours.

Step 4: Once a police report is filed, the Child Welfare Professional must complete the Missing Child Report (MCR) in FSFN. This must be entered within 24 hours of notification of the child being missing. The narrative section MUST be completed. Note: If a police report number is not issued or is not available, the Child Welfare Professional will enter in five (5)- 00000’s as a pseudo case number on the Missing Children Report form until such number is obtained. When the report number is obtained, FSFN must be updated with the report number.

Step 5: The Child Welfare Professional will initiate the Missing Child Action Form. This can be located on the internal SCC X-drive (X:\Community Based Care\Training\Training Public\Training Resources and Processes\CM Resources). The Child Welfare Professional will complete the following steps within 24 hours:

1. Document all appropriate notifications into FSFN.
2. Request a pickup order to be issued by legal services.
3. Complete an Incident Report within 12 hours of being notified of the absconded/runaway child.
4. Submit a SCC Portal Edit Request for a placement change within 24 hours.
5. Upload the Missing Child Action Form to a FSFN note as an attachment.

When a child is missing, time is of the essence in ensuring a safe & speedy return.