Children Services and Runaway Teens
The new runaway does not run. Instead they call Children Services and wait. Children Services protect abused children by removing the child from the home. Sometimes the child gets a new life by living with a preferred adult family member. Other times the child may be turned over to foster care. Either way, the child believes he or she is out of the home, out from under the parent’s rules, and out of trouble.
Many times it is not an abusive home, only a lifestyle that they don’t want. Some good examples are: the child is angry at the parents for grounding them: the child wants more wealth: the child does not want to follow the house rules: the child feels that they are treated unfairly: the child is angry over the single parent finding a new mate: etcâÂ?¦ Child runaway statistics show that the old fashioned runaway left due to family/ home dynamics so it should be no surprise the cause of the new type of runaway is home dynamics.
While the runaway child is in someone else’s care, usually the new life may seem better because the child has to be treated kindly. There is no questioning, there is no treatment to punish the child for making the phone call. After all, the runaway child is a ‘known’ or suspected victim of abuse despite the truth. If the child is with a family member or friend, that person must be very careful to not become another accused victim by being neutral in the situation.
Unlike the runaway child in old times, the child is dressed in good clothes, fed well, and has no worry about how to survive in the harsh reality of life, partly in thanks to Children Services and the foster care system that has about 500,000 children, that is if the child doesn’t get an abusive fosterer.
But what about the parents? They can’t file a missing persons report, they can’t have contact with their child even though the child’s location is known. The worst part of the new runaway scheme is that the parents aren’t only worried about the child, but worried about them selves or a mate going to prison.
Children Services investigates the allegations, with a perception of guilty until proven innocent. However, statistics demonstrates that 60-80% of abuse allegations are unconfirmed, but this does not inhibit the investigators nor the busy overworked caseworkers in their work, . If the parents are lucky, or can afford a good attorney, the investigation will be dropped and the kid returned. One habitual Children Services runaway female teen boasts, “So what if they send me back home. I’ll just do it again.”
If the child repeats the experience the Children Service investigator will come back and try to prove the parent guilty again. There is a limit to how many times the investigator will return, but that is based on whether the child can be proved to be and labeled a liar. At that point it is up to the caseworker to handle the problem. Depending on the Children Services caseworker, the child can be took to court, sent to counseling or left alone.
Once a child has been labeled a liar, the child must have absolute proof that he/she was abused in order to be removed again. This does not restrict others from having you investigated. In other words, the child can have someone else call a report to Children Services for them, or even lie to someone so that they will in good conscience report the child abuse.
It is in the best interest of the parents to file unruly child charges in Juvenile Court. Parents can ask for help from the Children Services investigator to prove their case to the Juvenile Court. Usually, Children Services is willing to work with parents when it is obvious that it is in the best interest of the child.
