Crime prevention series

Foreword

Published in:
Missing children : advice, information and preventative action for parents, teachers and counsellors
Paul Wyles
Canberra : Australian Institute of Criminology, 1988
ISBN 0 642 13556 8 ; ISSN 1031-5330
(Crime prevention series) ; p. v

My interest in runaway teenagers grew out of my contact with them 'on the street' and through community referrals as an Outreach Youth Worker for the YMCA and the City of Frankston for the past nine years. Apart from direct involvement with missing teenagers and their distressed families, I was awarded a Queen Elizabeth 11 Silver Jubilee Trust grant to study services for runaways and their families in the United States. In 1985, 1 carried out this study - an invaluable experience documented in Our Missing Children - a report on teenage runaways. I have continued to work with Victoria Police and community groups such as the YMCA and Parents of Missing Children Inc. to improve knowledge and services. During these years, I have witnessed a gradual appreciation that such a youth problem does exist here in Australia. However, appreciation of this community problem has not necessarily lead to action or improvement of the situation and there is much to be done by governments and communities.

This booklet is a beginning. The major emphasis is prevention and, as such, is important reading for parents and those involved in supporting families. It brings together a wealth of advice from policing and child welfare bodies, youth services, self-help organisations and experts in the field of missing persons. It is by no means just a booklet for parents of 'missing' or 'problem' teenagers. Rather it is for everybody concerned with the safety and well-being of children. I commend those involved in this publication and believe it will be of considerable benefit in supporting families and protecting children in Australia.

Christine Vincent
Springvale South
March 1988