The International Centre has been commissioned by Barnardo's NI to undertake an evaluation of a pilot missing initiative that has been developed by the Barnardo's Safe Choices NI service (a specialist CSE and missing service) and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The evaluation will report in late spring 2014.

The project will evaluate the impact of locating a specialist voluntary sector worker within a police Public Protection Unit in terms of the effective safeguarding of young people within that geographical area, specifically considering the contribution to:

• monitoring of missing patterns of behaviour amongst young people;
• increased awareness of the issues of missing and sexual exploitation amongst professionals in contact with the pilot service;
• increased awareness of the risks of missing and sexual exploitation amongst young people engaged in the pilot service;
• reducing the frequency of missing episodes and associated risks amongst young people engaged in the service;
• effective information sharing; and
• improved professional working relationships and a more coherent inter-agency response to the issues of missing and sexual exploitation.

As the work of the pilot service under review is time-limited, the evaluation would also seek to identify relevant learning for the future development of similar initiatives in other areas.

For further information, please contact Helen Beckett helen.beckett@beds.ac.uk