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runaways, what do you do?
momof10 Feb 21 2006, 07:39 PM Post #1
We are currently without another set of houseparents (we work a week on/week
off schedule) and so the consistency is nill. I think because of this, our boys
have become a bit squirrelly.
For the past few weeks, some of our boys have run off on campus and some off
campus. The other day one boy ran around campus for the whole day. Tonight we
have two boys who are on campus and have been running around for 2 hours.
What would your facility do? You personally? Do you even have this problem?
They are avoiding consequences from school and running away previously.
Any ideas would be great!
webmaster Feb 21 2006, 09:59 PM Post #2
We have had this happen at our facility and for our facility it is very much a
cyclical thing that happens every few years. It could be the result of
extenuating circumstances like you think and/or it could also just be copycats.
Johnny could have seen Stevie do it and see all the attention he got for doing
it and think, "I'm going to do it also and get some of that attention." That
definitely could be the result of lack of staff and the resulting lack of
relationships. It could also be johnny thinking, "that looks like fun and I
think I will just give it try" not even considering the consequences.
Unless you have control in the hiring process all you can do is keep working to
build relationships with the boys and provide fair and consistent boundaries
and consequences for going outside those boundaries to the best of your
ability. Hopefully you will get help and support from your administration and
other team members to help you and the children get through this.
Mortar Feb 21 2006, 11:56 PM Post #3
Usually when we have a resident that decides to go on a "walkabout" we take all
of thier shoes, socks and jackets. Being that we are located in the middle of
nowhere kind of restricts the runaways to on campus. We also make it a priority
to point out bear tracks during campus hikes;) (Seriously).
We don't have many runaways, but like the previous post, our facility deals
with this only in spurts.
nmmommy Feb 22 2006, 07:35 AM Post #4
We've had to deal with this just recently. Because of the situation, rules at
our home have been changed. If a child runs off, we will look for them for a
set period of time (if they are on campus, we will attempt to talk with them
and bring them back inside). If we are unsuccessful in finding the child, the
police will be called and it will be dealt with that way. If we have a child
run, we call administration immediately and they handle the show from there.
sandylegsntoes Feb 24 2006, 01:37 PM Post #5
How long do the runaways stay gone when they remain on campus? Do they camp out
overnight?
I had a teen girl become angry over a loss of music. She ran outside and
refused to come back inside. Her actions took away time and attention for the
other clients. After two hours, she overheard us talking about phoning our boss
who makes decisions on who stays in the group home and who goes somewhere else.
When she heard his name, she jumped up and ran back inside. We gave her a
consequence of no music for a week. Three days later I saw her and she had
earplugs in listenig to music. She smiled a gloating smile at me. When I asked
her residents what was the deal, the answer was, "you try listening to her
whine for a week." After that, this teen girl was blatantly unruly and
obnoxious to us. Just recently she is learning that we do not back down from
consequences and follow through when one is given.
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