Children in Care, Care Leavers, Missing Children and Transitional Safeguarding

Children in care, care leavers and young people who go missing face raised safeguarding risks because instability, trauma, disrupted relationships and exploitation often overlap in their lives. In Level 3 practice, these circumstances should change how you assess risk and plan care.

They require sharper professional curiosity and coordinated decision-making across services.

A child or young person may move between placements, schools, carers, health teams and local areas while still managing medicines, appointments, emotional distress and safety. Those moves can interrupt treatment, undermine trust and make serious risk easier to miss.

Children in Care and Care Leavers

Children in care often have histories of abuse, neglect, loss, multiple placements or exploitation before entering care. Care leavers can remain vulnerable after 18, especially if accommodation is unstable or support reduces suddenly.

In clinical pharmacy this may appear as interrupted prescribing, gaps in medicine collection, unclear responsibility for medicine supervision, or a young person being asked to self-manage sooner than is safe.

Missing Children

A child or young person who is missing from home, care, school or placement should be treated as potentially at risk rather than simply non-compliant. Missing episodes may indicate exploitation, abuse, trafficking, family conflict, self-harm or attempts to escape fear.

Clinical signs include tiredness, unexplained injuries, repeated attendances at different services, disrupted medicines, unexplained gifts or cash, or fear of particular adults, peers or places.

Transitional Safeguarding

Transitional safeguarding recognises that vulnerability and exploitation do not stop at 18. Risk can increase if support drops too quickly or service thresholds change abruptly.

For clinical pharmacy staff this matters when a young person is expected to take full responsibility for medicines and appointments while still managing trauma, unreliable support or unsafe people around them.

If a young person is moving between placements or services, going missing, or ageing out of support, continuity becomes a safeguarding issue as well as a care issue.