Children as young as eight are opting out of school and home life because their families are overwhelmed by poverty and other problems, according to the Eastern Health Board's annual report on child care and family support services.
Absence of child-care facilities, intolerance by teachers of difficult children, chronic unemployment and family breakdown are all combining to push children into situations where they are in danger of being sexually exploited, involved in crime or homeless, warns the EHB's Child Care Advisory Committee in the report.
Children as young as eight can become "disengaged" from the education system for a variety of reasons, the report says.
"They may opt out by physically absenting themselves more and more, or may be suspended by the school due to indiscipline or behaviour issues.
"With little or no monitoring, parental or otherwise, of time spent out of school, they may drift towards fending for themselves and seeking fulfilment elsewhere. They become increasingly at risk of involvement in delinquency and low-level criminal activity."
Factors contributing to the problem include: poverty and chronic unemployment; disorganised families where there is no routine or consistency; absence of pre-school facilities; high class numbers as well as "low sensitivity to or tolerance of children with difficulties" in school.
It is impossible to say exactly how many children are affected, the report says, but it warns that the progression from being out of school to being homeless "is becoming worryingly frequent".
Elsewhere the report notes that 346 cases of neglect were confirmed in the EHB area last year.
As neglect is a feature of the lives of some of those children who "opt out", the figure - which is only for a year - suggests that hundreds may be doing so.
The committee suggests that local forums be set up to deal with the problem.