Children at Risk of Exploitation (CRE) and County Lines

As a foster carer you are in a good position to notice the changes in behaviour and physical signs which can indicate involvement in sexual exploitation. To keep children safe, and prevent serious harm it is important to try and identify children at risk of harm from sexual exploitation at the earliest opportunity.

Looked After Children can be more vulnerable to exploitation. The individual needs and particular characteristics of the child such as ethnicity, culture, gender identity and sexuality, are particularly significant where child sexual exploitation is present. A risk assessment should be in place and consider all of these factors, how these risks work together and what can be put in place to protect the child.

It can be difficult for children to tell their carers that they are being sexually exploited; initially they may not recognise that they are being abused. Once they are being sexually exploited, threats from their abusers or feeling that may be in some way to blame for their own abuse can make it difficult for young people to ask for help.

The key signs that a child or young person is being sexually exploited are:

• Unexplained money or gifts;
• Going missing (for short and long periods), or during the course of the school day;
• Being distressed or withdrawn on their return home;
• Secrecy around new friends;
• Having additional mobile phones, or worrying use of the internet;
• Sexual health problems, including pregnancy;
• Changes in behaviour / emotional well-being;
• Drug or alcohol misuse;
• Secretive behaviour;
• Involvement in criminal activity;
• Unexplained physical injuries.

What to do if you have Concerns

You should record details of any concerns you have - as this can help identify patterns of behaviour, including potential perpetrators and other children who may be at risk. Concerns should be shared with the child's allocated social worker or the Children's Social Care Emergency Duty Team (if outside of working hours). If you have concerns that a child is in immediate danger, always ring 999.

When concerns about child sexual exploitation have been identified before the child comes to live with you, their Placement Plan should contain details of the day-to-day arrangements which have been agreed between you as foster carers and the placing authority / Fostering Service to keep the child safe.

If you have concerns that a child is being sexually exploited or is at risk of being exploited, you should always share these with the child's allocated social worker and your supervising social worker or a manager from the Fostering Service so that action can be taken to help safeguard the child. Sexual exploitation of a child who is in foster care is considered a 'significant event' and must be reported to Ofsted by the Fostering Service.

Remember if you have concerns that a child is in immediate danger, always ring 999.

Ways you can support the child

• Building positive relationships with children in your care is vital, both to identifying sexual exploitation and supporting children through their experiences:
  • You should be supportive, non judgemental and ready to listen to children when and if they need to talk;
  • Always look beyond challenging behaviour; if children are aggressive, secretive or going missing ask yourself what might be going on in their lives?
  • Share information - When children who are known to be at risk of sexual exploitation go missing, this should be reported promptly to the police and the child's social worker so they can take action to locate them and return them to safety;
  • Whenever children who have been missing return to your home they should be made welcome and offered care and support;
  • Building good links with the child's education providers will help to ensure that you are notified promptly if a child does not arrive at their education establishment so protective can be taken.

Caring for a child who is being sexually exploited can be a stressful and upsetting experience, and you should seek support from your supervising social worker, local foster carer support groups and the child's allocated social worker.

Any child or young person may be at risk of criminal exploitation, regardless of their family background or other circumstances, but children who are Looked After or who are excluded from mainstream education are at increased risk of being targeted.

Like other forms of abuse and exploitation, county lines exploitation:

• Can affect any child or young person (male or female) under the age of 18 years;
• Can still be exploitation even if the activity appears consensual;
• Can involve force and/or enticement-based methods of compliance (i.e. the receipt by the child of money/drugs or other goods) and is often accompanied by violence or threats of violence;
• Can be perpetrated by individuals or groups, males or females, and young people or adults; and
• Is typified by some form of power imbalance in favour of those perpetrating the exploitation. Whilst age may be the most obvious, this power imbalance can also be due to a range of other factors including gender, cognitive ability, physical strength, status, and access to economic or other resources.

Any child can become a victim of exploitation. However, the majority of victims have a range of risk factors that make them particularly vulnerable.

These include:

• Having had previous contact with the youth justice system;
• Being a child in need or care-experienced;
• Poor mental health;
• Special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), particularly Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder;
• Alcohol or substance misuse issues;
• A history of adverse childhood experiences;
• Living in poverty or homelessness;
• Exclusion from mainstream education;
• Unsettled immigration status in the UK;
• Perceived sense of status, belonging and/or protection.

Black and minority ethnic children are overrepresented in statistics on criminal exploitation and are more likely to experience multiple vulnerabilities that put them at risk of exploitation, including contact with the youth justice system, poverty, undiagnosed special educational needs and exclusion from school.

It is thought that 14-17 years is the most common age for children to be exploited but there are reports of children below the age of 11 years being targeted.

Boys are most commonly identified as being criminally exploited, but girls are also used and exploited. It may be that girls are identified by safeguarding children agencies because of concerns other than criminal exploitation while also being criminally exploited.

Some of the main warning signs that a child or young person is involved in county lines or being exploited are listed below, with those at the top of particular concern:

• Persistently going missing from their school or the foster home and/or being found out-of-area;
• Noticeable changes in behaviour (these changes can be very rapid);
• Unexplained acquisition of money, clothes, or mobile phones;
• Excessive receipt of texts/phone calls and/or having multiple handsets;
• Relationships with controlling/older individuals or groups;
• Leaving the home without explanation;
• Suspicion of physical assault/unexplained injuries;
• Carrying weapons/drugs;
• Significant decline in school results/performance;
• Gang association or isolation from peers or social networks;
• Self-harm or significant changes in emotional well-being.

When concerns about criminal exploitation have been identified, the child's Placement Plan should contain details of the day to day arrangements which have been agreed between you, the Fostering Service and the placing authority to keep the child safe. You and the Fostering Service should actively safeguard and promote the welfare of the child and young person responding to these safeguarding issues as per the placement plan. Consideration also needs to be given to your safety and that of your family.

• Building positive relationships with children is vital to preventing and identifying exploitation;
• You should be supportive and ready to listen to children when and if they need to talk;
• Look beyond challenging behaviour; if children are aggressive, secretive or going missing ask yourself what might be going on in their lives?
• When children who are known to be at risk of exploitation go missing, this should be reported promptly to the police, the child's social worker and the local Children's Social Care so they can take action to locate them and return them to safety;
• Whenever children who have been missing return to the household they should be made welcome and offered care and support by you. Independent Return interviews should be offered in line with the Runaway and Missing from Home or Care Protocol by the local Authority or by another professional;
• Building strong links with education providers will help to ensure that you and the Fostering Service are notified promptly if a child does not arrive at their education establishment as planned, and protective action taken as a result.

If you and the Fostering Service have any concerns that a child is involved in, or at risk of involvement in, CCE, these concerns should then be shared with the child's allocated social worker, the child's Independent Reviewing Officer and also Children's Social Care/the police. If the child is in immediate danger, always ring 999.

All concerns and other relevant information should be noted in the child's records so that any patterns over time can be identified. The Fostering Service should review your notes and refer on any concerns of patterns emerging.

Sharing intelligence and information is crucial to preventing criminal exploitation in the local area. It is only by sharing data that agencies can develop an understanding of the prevalence, nature and scale of criminal exploitation and county lines activity.

An early, coordinated response to any child who has been criminally exploited is really important for the child, and other children linked to them - including other children living in the foster home.