Nova Scotia Tracks Surge in Missing Foster Youth
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
New provincial data reveals hundreds of youth in group homes are fleeing care, highlighting systemic vulnerabilities.
Nova Scotia has begun tracking the number of youth in government care who run away, revealing a pattern of instability within the province's group homes, as CBC News first reported. According to reports from the Department of Opportunities and Social Development obtained by CBC News, there were 491 incidents between August 2025 and March 2026 involving missing children or youth who were considered at “imminent risk.”
With fewer than 150 children currently living in group homes across the province, the data suggests some youth are running away repeatedly. This tracking system was implemented in the summer of 2025 after Nova Scotia’s auditor general criticized the department for failing to analyze individual incidents for broader trends or patterns.
Former youth in care described the group homes as unsafe environments. Grayson Balzan, who entered care at age 12, told CBC News he fled his Dartmouth group home due to bullying and physical violence from older children. Balzan, who is on the autism spectrum, recalled other youth smashing dishes and throwing food, noting that staff offered little help after a cherished stuffed toy was stolen.
Lorna Ferguson, an assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Regina, told CBC News that group homes are the primary location where missing persons reports originate in Canada. Ferguson warned that missing youth are more susceptible to homelessness and human trafficking.
Additional data from the RCMP’s National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains indicates that Nova Scotia police received approximately 500 runaway reports in 2025. A 2024 RCMP analysis further suggested that more than half of those cases involved “hronic” or “habitual” runaways.