If a child in DFPS’s managing conservatorship returns to substitute care after being reported to law enforcement as a runaway or missing, the child’s caseworker or assigned on-call staff must provide notice as described in 6151.3 Notification Requirements and Schedule.

The caseworker or the special investigator, whoever made first contact with the child, must interview the child to do the following:

• Determine the reasons the child ran away or was absent from care.
• Get information about the child’s experiences while absent from care.
• Screen to determine whether the child was a victim of abuse or neglect, or a victim of sex or labor trafficking, while absent from care.

If the interview identifies the child as a victim of a crime, including trafficking, the caseworker must immediately, but no later than 8 hours after the interview, report the situation to local law enforcement.

If the child is identified as a victim of abuse or neglect or trafficking, the caseworker must also notify Statewide Intake to make a report immediately, but no later than 8 hours upon becoming aware of this information.

If the caseworker completes the interview, the caseworker must share the information with the special investigator (SI), and if the SI completes the interview, the SI must share the information with the caseworker.

If the reasons the child ran away or was absent from care are revealed during the interview, the caseworker must, to the extent possible, address those factors in the child’s current and future placements.

When a missing child is recovered, the caseworker follows the regional practices for conducting a Youth Recovery Roundtable, also called a wraparound meeting, with the child. This meeting allows the child an opportunity to discuss the reasons for running away and to develop alternatives to running away in the future.

42 U.S.C §671(a)(35)(A)

Notifications for Identified or Suspected Victims of Human Trafficking

The caseworker must inform local law enforcement immediately, but no later than 8 hours after, identifying or suspecting that a child, youth, or young adult (ages 0 – 20) has become or may become a victim of sex or labor trafficking.

42 U.S.C §671(a)(34)(A)