FOI Request - Return Home Interviews And Support
Request 101002927532
I am writing to request information regarding your provision of Return Home Interviews and post-missing support services for children who have been reported missing.
1) Which agencies currently deliver Return Home Interviews (RHIs) to children who have been missing from home or care in your local authority area by:
a) A team based in your authority (Yes or No)
- If yes: which team and/or what is the role of the professional delivering RHIs
b) A third sector agency? (Yes or No)
- If yes, please tell us which agency?
- What is the total current value of the contract?
- What is the contract length?
- When does the current contract end?
c) Other (Yes or No)
- If yes, please tell us which team/ organisation and/or the role of the professional
- What is the total current value of the contract?
- What is the contract length?
- When does the current contract end?
2) In addition to your return home interview service, do you provide post-missing support to children who have been missing from home or care in your local authority area? Post-missing support is often intensive, 121 support with a support worker which is used to further address and reduce the risks surrounding the missing child. This could include advocacy, safety planning and other emotional/practical support sessions. (Yes or No)
3) If yes to question 2, who is your post-missing service in your local authority area delivered by?
a) A team based in your authority (Yes or No)
- If yes, please specify which team and/or what is the role of the professional delivering post-missing support
b) A third sector agency? (Yes or No)
- If yes, please tell us which agency?
- What is the total current value of the contract?
- What is the contract length?
- When does the current contract end?
c) Other (Yes or No)
- If yes, please tell us which team/ organisation and/or the role of the professional
- What is the total current value of the contract?
- What is the contract length?
- When does the current contract end?
4) How are Return Home Interviews (RHI’s) and/or your post missing support service delivered in your local authority area?
a) All face-to-face support (Yes or No)
b) All telephone support (Yes or No)
c) All digital support e.g. via teams, FaceTime, WhatsApp video (Yes or No)
d) A combination of face-to-face and telephone support (Yes or No)
e) A combination of telephone and digital support (Yes or No)
f) A combination of face-to-face, telephone and digital support (Yes or No)
g) Other (please specify):
5) Does your Return Home Interview or post-missing service offer children and young people access to a freephone telephone number for out of hours support? (Yes or No)
6) If yes, who provides this freephone service?
Response 08/12/2021
1. Which agencies currently deliver Return Home Interviews (RHIs) to children who have been missing from home or care in your local authority by area:
a. A team based in your authority - Yes
i. If yes: which team and/or what is the role of the professional delivering RHIs
Return home discussions are currently delivered by Police Scotland Return Home Interview Officers or a Children and Families Social Worker. Specifically we have a joint protocol between Police Scotland and Children’s Social Work to support children who go missing from care.
We have a partnership improvement project for return home discussions to be delivered by a wider pool of professionals based on pre-existing relationships with the child, including residential, education and third sector support staff roles. No one agency is contracted to deliver return home discussions and for this reason we are unable to provide responses to parts b and c of this question.
b. A third sector agency - No
i. If yes, please tell us which agency?
ii. What is the total current value of the contract?
iii. What is the contract length?
iv. When does the current contract end?
c. Other - No
i. If yes, please tell us which team/organisation and/or the role of the professional
ii. What is the current value of the contract?
iii. When does the contract end?
2. In addition to your return home interview service, do you provide post-missing support to children who have been missing from hoe or care in your local authority area? Post-missing support is often intensive, 121 support with a support worker which is used to further address and reduce the risks surrounding the missing child. This could include advocacy, safety planning and other emotional/practical support sessions.
Yes
3. If yes to question 2, who is your post-missing service in your local authority area delivered by?
a. A team based in your authority
Yes
i. If yes, please specify which team and/or what is the role of the professional delivering post-missing support
Post missing support is agreed with the team around the child and incorporate into our child planning process. We have a partnership improvement project to enable this support to be outcome focussed and to address the underlying causes as informed by the return home discussion. No one agency is contracted to deliver this as stand-alone support services, it is integrated within our child planning process and the overall assessment of a child’s needs and agreed plan of support. For this reason we are unable to provided responses to parts b and c of this question.
b. A third sector agency - No
i. If yes, please tell us which agency?
ii. What is the total current value of the contract?
iii. What is the contract length?
iv. When does the current contract end?
c. Other - No
i. If yes, please tell us which team/organisation and/or the role of the professional
ii. What is the total current value of the contract?
iii. What is the contract length?
iv. When does the current contract end?
4. How are return home interviews (RHIs) and/or your post missing support service delivered in your local authority area?
a. All face to face support - No
b. All telephone support - No
c. All digital support e.g. via Teams, FaceTime, WhatsApp video - No
d. A combination of face to face and telephone support - No
e. A combination of telephone and digital support - No
f. A combination of face to face, telephone and digital support - Yes
g. Other (please specify)
5. Does your Return Home Interview or post-missing service offer children and young people access to a Freephone telephone number out of hours support? - Yes
6. If yes, who provides this Freephone service?
The helpline and 121 chat service offered by registered charity Missing People is promoted to children and families locally.