What would the police do with a runaway kid?

They take them to the station. try to contact the parents and then the decision is made about the transfer to juvenile detention. Methods and laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

If you are doing research for a story, why not contact Foster Care services and see what they say? Also organizations that work with runaway kids, and the police. From what I understand, many of the children who run away from home are being abused in some way, and I would imagine (hope) that the authorities would think twice about sending them back to their homes without making pretty sure that things are really okay there.

@skfinkel
The authorities don’t think twice, the underage child will be sent back to the parents.

If abuse is obvious or a prior of abuse has occurred they may not send them back.

How is the kid “sent back”? Like the cops put them on a Greyhound bus?

Or do they wait for the parents to pick up the kid themselves?

Juveniles will returned to custody ( wait for parents ) of guardians. If it is habitual runaway they maybe placed in juvenile authorities.

Where do they wait?

Okay, so I have never actually been in a police station, but I am imagining something like a “waiting room” like in a doctor’s office. Something like that? Or a more secure room (or cell)?

Thanks, by the way.

Secure area but may not be a cell, maybe a holding area but with supervision.

I would check with the state’s DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services) for the place you’re writing about. Illinois was the first one I found when I googled “procedure for returning runaway kids”.

Where I live , they are taken to the Children’s Receiving Home, either in a squad car or picked up by a monitor from the home.

Many years ago, I lived in a small town that had a Foster Family program and I was one of the on call homes. The police would bring the children directly to my house.

I ran away as a kid once. The cops drove me home.