Victoria – In acknowledgement of International Missing Children’s Day, May 25, B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth is calling on provincial systems of care to do more to prevent and better support young people who are lost, fleeing and missing from government care.
“The government has made improvements since my office completed a report on this issue in 2023; however, we continue to receive too many reports of young people who are missing, some of whom are experiencing critical injuries and even death while lost, fleeing or missing from government placements,” said Representative Jennifer Charlesworth.
In 2024, RCY received 990 reports of children and youth who were missing, in addition to one young person who died while missing. Those reports represented 330 distinct young people, a number that Charlesworth says is far too high. “Given the pervasiveness of how many reports we are hearing about through the media and in our own work, we know this issue is having a huge impact on the lives of young people,” said Charlesworth. “They are telling us they are leaving their placements because they don’t feel like they belong. They may be experiencing trauma or exploitation or struggling with mental health or substance use issues. They may be searching for family or friends. Whatever the reason, there is no question that being missing is putting young people at significant risk.”
The Representative made nine recommendations to the Ministry of Children and Family Development in the 2023 report Missing: Why children are disappearing from B.C.’s child welfare system?. Since the release of the report, some key improvements have been made, including changes to policy and the introduction of new practice guidelines that support social workers to engage and respond to young people during and after the time they are missing. However, according to the ministry’s own summary of engagement with service providers conducted in 2024 and obtained by RCY, services to meet the needs of young people who are lost or missing are still described as ineffective, inadequate and not supportive of prevention strategies.
Charlesworth says these perspectives underscore that more needs to be done to prevent young people from going missing in the first place.
“In light of this information and the data that we have, it is clear that we need to focus more on understanding and watching for situations where a young person is expressing that they don’t feel like they belong and take immediate steps to ensure a sense of connection is restored. This is not just a Ministry of Children and Family Development challenge—a sense of connection is something many of us can create,” said Charlesworth.
RCY is committed to continuing to engage with young people, families and service providers to better understand not only why young people are going missing from government placements, but most importantly, what needs to be done to both enhance belonging and connection within placements and reduce the risks and harms associated with young people who are lost, fleeing or missing from government care. The office is also undertaking a comprehensive review of government-funded staffed group homes to identify gaps in practice and quality of care and to examine how care providers can ensure that young people living in these environments are safe and well supported.
“This is a collective responsibility, not just for government but for all of us,” said Charlesworth. “By continuing to shine a light on this issue, we are hoping to clearly identify how and where we need to strengthen our approaches so that young people have a home life that allows them to thrive.”
