The 10-Question Tool: A Novel Screening Instrument for Runaway Youth
Laurel Edinburgh, Midwest Children’s Resource Center, Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota
Emily Huemann, Sexual Offense Services, St. Paul, Minnesota
Elizabeth Saewyc, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
Abstract
Adolescents who run away face high rates of sexual and physical assault, yet there are no established brief screening tools that police can use to determine adolescents’ safety or that help police refer such youth to needed services when they are located. We developed the 10-Question Tool for law enforcement officers to screen runaway youth about issues related to their safety. We reviewed 300 10-Question forms completed by law enforcement officers in St. Paul, Minnesota. Our analyses explored demographic characteristics of runaway youth, including their reasons for leaving home, disclosure of injury, sexual assault, and their need for health care. This novel approach to screening by law enforcement officers appears to identify, locate, and refer runaway teens needing services as a result of myriad harms, including sexual assault.
