New Guidance: Preparing parents for their child’s return from missing

When a child goes missing, it’s important that professionals work with their parents as much as possible, ensuring they are part of the plans to safeguard and support the child, and prevent further harm. See this briefing for more context on the importance of seeing parents as protective factors.

The moment when a child returns can be particularly important – they might be exhausted, angry, have been a victim of harm while away, or experiencing any of a hundred other emotions. However, parents often don’t know how to best respond. They might be feeling angry themselves, might not know how to speak to their child about what has happened, or might not understand what is happening for their child.

Download the Guidance

We have worked with the NWG to develop guidance for any professionals who will have contact with the parents of a missing child. This guidance will help professionals to explore with parents how they are going to respond when their child comes back, and how they can best look after themselves and their child.