In 1988, a Seattle shelter turned away an average of 21 youth each month because no beds were available. According to the Department of Social and Health Services, over 80 youth in Seattle and King County were awaiting foster or group home placement in 1988. What this means for runaways, police, and youth shelters is that the struggle to find available beds and appropriate services will continue. Runaways, once believed to be children and youth who could return to a safe home, are now recognized as predominantly abused and neglected children. The lack of available placements for these youth is critical. Until the problem is addressed, efforts of law enforcement and social service providers will remain, at best, insufficient. Given the limitations of available resources, the combined efforts of law enforcement and social services are crucial. Police officers have two responsibilities, to protect the individual and to protect the community. At times, there is a tenuous balance between the two responsibilities, and the characteristics of runaways dramatize the conflict. The responsibility for familiarizing police with the services offered by a runaway shelter is the task of the shelter itself. Beyond assisting police with the runaway, the youth shelter supports the police and the community in other ways: keeping runaways off the street, reducing the likelihood of their becoming involved in street subculture and crime, providing support to anxious parents of runaway children via hotlines and crisis intervention, and providing runaway prevention education curricula. 30 endnotes.