A WALES-wide action plan setting out practical steps to reduce the number of young people in care or with experience of care falling into criminal behaviour or exploitation is to be developed.
Children's rights charity National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) Cymru brought together a host of prominent Welsh politicians, policy makers and police and crime commissioners to tackle the issue at an event, held in Cardiff last week.
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NYAS Cymru is now forming a Wales Steering Group to drive forward an action plan designed to prevent more care-experienced children and young people from being exploited or criminalised.
In developing a plan to address the issue, the Wales Steering Group will focus on five objectives.
These include mapping out a national picture of return interviews - which local authorities are required to offer to all children who run away or go missing from care - and developing a code of best practice for return interview providers.
The plan will also aim to endorse a child’s rights approach to policing, to help prevent the criminalisation of young people in care and build bridges between the police and care-experienced young people.
More than 10,000 children are reported to the police as missing in Wales every year and almost half (43 per cent) of missing children incidents in Wales relate to children in the care system.
Statistics show that children and young people in care who go missing or run away are disproportionately at risk of harm or danger, including sexual exploitation or grooming for criminal activity such as drug running on so-called ‘county lines’. They are also at an increased risk of being arrested or imprisoned or being caught up in serious violence.
NYAS Cymru National Executive Director, Sharon Lovell said, “Child criminal exploitation, including coercion into county lines networks, continues to hit the headlines and it’s clear that the issue needs to be addressed urgently.
“That is why we want to work to help stem the flow of young people going missing from care and experiencing criminal exploitation.
“We are very grateful to all those involved for their commitment to helping us find a way forward and agreeing to combine our approach to improve young people’s lives.”
NYAS Cymru will be hosting the first Wales Steering Group meeting on Friday, September 27.
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