Author: Proctor, Amy

Safeguarding and Family Support Return Home Interviews Guidance

This flowchart should be read in conjunction with the relevant Mosaic flowchart and guidance notes August 2019. All young people who go missing in Herefordshire (ordinarily resident, placed by another local authority (COLA) or visiting) who are reported missing to the police should have a missing incident recorded on the police COMPACT system and Business Support (Safeguarding & Family Support) receive all COMPACT missing notifications. Once found, the police should record this on COMPACT and Business Support receive all found notifications. Business Support also forward the missing and found notifications to the placing authority for COLAs.
This flowchart details the process to be followed after a young person has gone missing and the return interview process once the young person has been found.

The missing and found process for children not currently open and COLAs is managed through MASH contact / referral procedures. For children receiving a service, oversight is from the allocated team manager.

If missing for 24 hours OR aged under 12 and missing for 4 hours:
MASH / allocated team to convene strategy discussion and follow Serious Incident Notification process.

Found: return home interview to be offered—within 24 hours for children with an open MASH contact; within 72 hours for all other children

For COLAs and contacts: RHI record sent to MASH for consideration within contact/referral processes

For open cases: RHI sent to allocated team manager to record oversight and allocated SW to visit within 5 working days

Practitioner completing the RHI shares with:
For MASH contacts: MASH, Police Missing and Exploitation Co-Ordinators
For COLAs: as above, plus Police Care Home Co-Ordinators and placing authority (placing authority responsible for convening risk management meeting where required)
Open cases: Police Missing and Exploitation Co-Ordinators, child’s social worker, child’s IRO if looked after

Is YP already assessed as being at risk of exploitation? - share RHI record with CE Co-Ordinators to consider whether Risk Management Meeting should be brought forward.
Consider information to be shared at Prevention & Disruption multi-agency group.
YP missing 3 times within the last 6 months? - contacts must be progressed to referral Level 4. Exploitation Risk Assessment to be completed and Risk Management meeting to be convened within 5 working days to develop a Safety Plan. Meeting to agree timescales for review, depending upon level of risk.