Group Home Teen Runs Away 4 Times in 4 Days

Portsmouth police were called to the same local group home four times in four days for the same 17-year-old boy leaving the facility. By the fourth call, the teen finally told an officer why he kept walking away. He was upset because the group home wouldn’t let him call his family, so he went for a walk. The boy is in the custody of Lawrence County Children Services, meaning he has been placed in a facility outside the county responsible for his case. That detail matters, because kids in group homes are often already dealing with separation from family, school changes, trauma, court involvement, and the loss of control over much of their daily lives. And when they leave, police end up being the ones sent to bring them back. Four Calls in Four Days The first call came shortly before 6 p.m. October 8, when staff reported the teen missing from the group home. He returned a short time later. Then, just after 8 p.m., police were called again because he had left a second time. When officers arrived, he was already back on the porch. The next morning brought another call. Staff said the 17-year-old jumped out of a van while being taken to school near Bannon Park. The employee also reported that he struck her with his school books. About half an hour later, police learned the teen had made it to school. Then came call number four. On October 10, staff again reported him missing. This time, the teen called and told police he was inside Burger King and would wait for an officer. Police picked him up and took him back to the group home. That’s when he explained that he was upset because he had not been allowed to call his family. The officer noted this was the fourth call for the same problem in four days. Why Kids Run From Group Homes Runaways are a persistent problem in residential child-care settings, and there are some structural reasons for that. Ohio defines group homes as nonsecure facilities. They supervise children around the clock, but they are not jails and are not supposed to physically confine children or prevent them from leaving. Ohio Laws That means when a teenager decides to walk away, staff may have very limited ability to stop them physically. Children placed in residential care may also be dealing with trauma, conflict at home, disrupted family relationships, placement far from familiar people, school problems, or anger about being in care at all. Ohio’s own placement rules say agencies are supposed to first explore relatives and other people already connected to the child before turning to other placements. Ohio Laws And state law now specifically directs Ohio to encourage residential facilities to be located so children can remain within or close to their home county when possible. Ohio Laws That reflects a basic problem: distance can make maintaining family connections harder. What About Calling Parents? The police report only gives the teenager’s side of the story. It does not explain why the group home allegedly would not allow the call. There can be legitimate restrictions on contact in individual cases. A court order, safety concern, custody decision, treatment plan, or case plan may limit who a child can contact and when. But Ohio’s rules also recognize the importance of family involvement. Residential facilities are required to develop service plans, and a child’s family is among those who are supposed to be invited to participate when applicable. Children in residential placements also remain under the oversight of the agency that holds custody. That agency must regularly check on the child’s safety, well-being, and whether the placement continues to meet the child’s needs. So repeated runaways are more than simply a police nuisance. Four calls in four days can be a sign that something about the placement, supervision, family contact, or treatment plan needs another look. In this case, nobody was charged in the final incident. The teen walked away, called police himself, waited to be picked up, and was returned to the group home. But his explanation — he wanted to talk to his family — puts a very human reason behind a problem police are repeatedly being asked to solve.

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