Ok ignoring the last response to which I am certain is from a troll, here is my input on your question Peni.
Arrangements between school and local authorites do exsist. Most of these school for youth -sniggers- betterment have some sort of guardian consent form that needs to be signed. This gives the school permission to chase kids who run away. As the child who is in a bit of a legal limblo as his parents have given their permission to the school the local authorities tend to side with the kiddie torture camps.
After all think about it from law enforcement point of view. Here is school to help kids that has parental permission to persue the run away so in the eyes of the law the kid is a run away.
Now working with Three Springs I saw several run away attempts, and spent more than one long night out in the woods chasing the kids. Never a pleasant experience for all involved, but the typical proceedure was as follows.
1) Counselor of the group discovers a missing resident, or watches a resident run off, he or she promplty notifies a supervisor over the radio.
2) All groups are placed on groupness meaning all residents must be under direct counselor supervision at all times. Most major activites tend to come to a halt, and the groups are moved down to main campus for better supervision, and to allow counselors to start the search proceedures.
3) All other campuses are notified immediately that includes the Long Term Girls program about a mile away, and the short term three springs state of alabama programs a few hundred yards away.
Nearby neighboors are notified as well as the County Sheriff.
4)Spare staff meaning double covered groups loose their extra counselors, staff in training, select office staff if availiable is immediately organized to begin searching the local area.
5) With counselors now out in the woods beating the bush so to say several vehicles are sent out to various choke points in the area that the kid would have to pass through to gain access to the local highway.
6) Now if the search goes on for more than a few hours then vehicles are dispatched to begin notifying the local gas stations, and other small stores nearby of a run away, and to provide the store owners with a description.
7) It is quite possible that a Private Investigator could be contacted will be hired if the resident is missing for more than a few days.
The longest one has been loose I think was 3 or 4 days. One made it as far as Oregon by stealing cars, and another stole his parents rental car out of the parking lot, and made it to Virginia before getting busted.
I am sure I missed a bunch, but if I think of anything else I will post it.