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Special report by ITV Channel s Gary Burgess
Children in Jersey s care homes are at risk of exploitation, including sexual grooming, according to experts.
It comes in the week an independent report revealed multiple failings within the system and the scale of incidents of children running away.
Among those going missing, a 12-year-old child, while another child went missing 47 times during the course of a year. In one home alone in 2020, there were 143 missing children incidents.
Hannah Chetwynd, The Children s Society Credit: ITV Channel TV
It s very easy for the people to groom them and coax them using promises of love and affection, money, things that they don t have, drugs and alcohol sometimes.
6 hours ago
CHILDREN as young as 12 have been disappearing from some local care homes, often overnight – with one youngster reported missing 47 times, a new report has revealed.
Picture: JON GUEGAN. (30690259)
Despite this, most of the children and young people living in the homes report ‘high levels of satisfaction’ with the care they are receiving.
The report from the Jersey Care Commission followed inspections of the care homes carried out last year. Regular inspection of the facilities was one of the recommendations of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry.
Jersey has seven different care facilities for children and young people. Four of them are small homes, catering for just two or three children, while there are two which provide short breaks for up to 30.
Monday April 19, 2021, 1:13 PM
The data forms part of the findings by the Jersey Care Commission, which was tasked with the inspection of registered care homes for children in the island last year. Credit: PA Images
Children as young as 12 went missing overnight from their Jersey care homes in 2020, with one child going missing 47 times.
The data forms part of the findings by the Jersey Care Commission, which was tasked with the inspection of registered care homes for children in the island last year.
One care home, alone, reported 143 incidents in 2020. Incidents could include missing from care episodes, arrests, hospital attendance related to substance misuse, assault allegations and self-harm, and require notification to the Commission within two working days. The majority of the reports related to young people missing from care at night.
The report found the frequency of missing from care episodes was most prevalent in four of the homes, and several of the homes were found