Runaways

OVERVIEW

STATISTICS AND TRENDS

• The FBI and other agencies estimate that more than one million children a year (20,000 a week) run away from home.
• Approximately 2000 unidentified bodies are found by the police each year.
• Children run away from home for a variety of reasons:

• Child abuse.
• Parental problems involving marriage, alcohol, finances, etc.
• Communication breakdown between the parent and child.
• The desire to break restraints and find adventure and independence.

• Runaways usually flee to a large city and are quickly pressured into drugs and prostitution. Kids may find themselves shrewdly propositioned within 5-15 minutes after getting off a bus.
• Runaways come from all races and socioeconomic strata. They are often terribly naïve to street life and survival.
• In many cities, programs have been created to help such young people.
• "Operation: Home Free" is a national program of free rides home cosponsored by the Trailways Bus Company and the International Association of the Chiefs of Police (IACP). Help is obtained from any Trailways ticket office, police station, or child welfare agency.

IMPLICATIONS

• Youth workers need to understand of the factors contributing to runaway youth. Exposure to the beginning phases of crisis counseling is helpful when first involved with a runaway.
• The youth worker could be the person a runaway calls. It is necessary to establish a trust relationship from the beginning and impose confidentiality as appropriate.

Dean Borgman cCYS