PURPOSE: The purpose of this rule is to establish formal procedures to be followed when a youth runs away from a residential facility of the diuision or when s/he is on runaway status and is apprehended. It is recognized that local procedures followed in these circumstances uary from facility-to-facility. Each facility shall write procedures which can be logically and consistently followed. This policy couers only those actions that should be taken by all the facilities.

1. (1) These procedures are to be followed in the ease of runaways.

   1. (A) Immediately upon the discovery and verification that a youth has run away, the local police shall be notified and given the information they will need to help locate the youth.
   2. (B) As a general rule, if the youth is not apprehended within a relatively short period of time (about four (4) hours), then the youth’s parents and the aftercare youth counselor shall be notified.
   3. (C) If the youth is not apprehended during the initial search period, then an arrest warrant shall be sent to local police and to the o&e headauarters at the child’s home community.
   4. (D) Whether or not the youth is amrehended, a certain amount of reporting must be accomplished. As soon as practical a written report shall be forwarded to central office to the supervisor. A copy of this report shall also be sent to the aftercare youth counselor. In addition to this report, a letter shall be sent to the youth’s parents notifying them of the run and circumstances under which the run occurred. This is to be done even if the parents were previously called.

2. (2) These procedures are to be followed when runaways are apprehended. In most cases the steps to be followed are simply necessary to reverse the actions taken in section (1) of this lllle.

   1. (A) If the parents, local police and aftercare worker have been notified of the runaway and the youth is apprehended by division personnel, these same individuals shall be informed that the youth is back in DYS custody.
   2. (B) In those cases where written documents were forwarded to the various officials, these documents shall be rescinded with the written document, that is, if a letter was forwarded to the parents to notify them of the runaway, a letter will also be sent to notify them that the youth has been apprehended; and if an arrest warrant has been forwarded to the various o&e units. a letter will be sent to offici& cancel the &rant.
   3. (C) If the youth is apprehended before central office has been notified ofthe runaway, this fact should be indicated on the report. If the youth was not apprehended and central office was notified, then a follow-up report should be sent to the appropriate supervisor indicating the youth is back in DYS custody.

   Auth: section 219.036. RSMo (19861. Original rule filed Dec. &1975, effect& Jan. 9,1976.