Unsafe harbor
IN MASSACHUSETTS there is no criminal penalty for an adult who harbors a runaway without informing authorities of the child's whereabouts. Such a hole in the state's child protection laws serves only adults looking to exploit confused or unguarded young people.
Police in Uxbridge are now investigating the case of a 15-year-old girl who had run away from a group home in Rhode Island and was being kept for nearly a week by an adult male in a local motel. The girl was reluctant to leave, and the officers were hard-pressed to compel her to do so absent any statute. Though police did manage to convince the girl to return to custodial care in Rhode Island, the case has generated a lot of concern in Worcester County, including in the office of District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.
Early doesn't know the extent of the problem in Worcester County or the state. But it could be significant. The US Justice Department estimated in 1999 that more than one million runaway children in the United States are exposed annually to criminal activities, including sexual and physical abuse.
Massachusetts needs a law to deal explicitly with adults who harbor runaways. Licensed human service agencies and youth shelters should be exempt. But there is no reason why anyone should be harboring a child other than their own without permission of a parent or contact with child welfare authorities. A child should never be forced to return to an abusive home. But it is both absurd and frightening that a predatory adult in Massachusetts can refuse to release a minor to law enforcement or child welfare workers.
Judges in the j uvenile c ourt system are starting to speak out. That is especially important because juvenile court proceedings are generally closed to the public. Judge Carol Erskine of the Worcester County Juvenile Court believes that the majority of teen runaways in the state are being harbored by adults and that many of the young people are at risk of physical or sexual abuse. The ability of adults and teens to connect via the Internet exacerbates the problem, says Erskine, who wants to see an end to what she calls a "gaping loophole" that limits the ability of authorities to act in the best interest of a child.
There is some activity in the Legislature. State Representative Jennifer Flanagan of Leominster, a former youth counselor, is examining more than 20 statutes in other states, including Michigan and Texas, as possible models.
The runaway problem can be bewildering. Some parents or guardians expel children before they reach legal age. Some children see the streets as a less painful environment than their own homes. Others are simply mixed up. But all are better off working through established social service agencies than living in the grip of adults whose expressions of concern may be a mask for criminal intent.
