17 year old runaway turning 18

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Reply:I’m 17, I turn 18 in 4 months.

Hello,
Thanks for contacting the National Runaway Safeline.

We understand it takes great courage to reach out, and we appreciate you sharing a little bit about what’s going on. It sounds like you’re quite overwhelmed by things at home right now and you mentioned being harmed. We’re sorry you’re going through this. You don't deserve to be hurt in any way. If you are at risk of any danger or feeling unsafe, we encourage you to reach out to 911 or seek emergency assistance immediately. You may also be able to report any mistreatment to CPS. Child Help USA 1-800-422-4453 www.childhelp.org is an organization that helps protect minors from being harmed. It may also be a good place to explore options for staying with another family member or someone you trust as far as transferring custody.

Keep in mind that we are not legal experts and can only answer in general about any runaway laws.
The age of majority in Tennessee is 18. Most likely you would no longer be considered a runaway once you reach your 18^th birthday by the police. You might consider contacting the non-emergency number of your local police department to get some clarity about the runaway laws in your state.
A question you might ask is – if someone ran away from home at 17 would that person still be considered a runaway once they turn 18? It is best to call during normal business hours.

You are welcome to contact NRS and ask one of our crisis service liners to contact the police on your behalf and pose your question. You may listen in to hear what response the police give.
To contact NRS call 1-800 –Runaway (786-2929).

Take care,
NRS

I’m 17, I turn 18 in 4 months. My home life is horrible, I’m emotionally and physically abused here. If I leave and my parents call the cops as I’m a runaway could I get in trouble even after the fact? I’m 18. Like if I hide out and lay low until my birthday. I live in Tennessee .

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Thank you for reaching out to us here at National Runaway Safeline. We are not legal experts so we cannot say for sure what will happen now that you are 18. In most states, 18 year old's are considered legal adults. We are happy to hear that you have been doing good on your own. Please feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions or concerns, via our 24 hour crisis hotline (1-800-786-2929), email, or live chat.

Hi so I've left home like 4 weeks ago but i just turned 18 and i wanted to know what's gonna happen since i was reported run away. No one told me to leave home i just left on my own and I've been doing good on my own since i left home.

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Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out to us at the National Runaway Safeline. It's great that you are trying to find help and resources for your friend.

One thing your friend can do is file an abuse report if they feel unsafe. You can reach out to Child Help at 1-800-422-4453 to get more information on abuse reporting or they are there to listen and to support if your friend just needs someone to talk to or for advice.

Another thing your friend should consider would be how they are going to survive if they run away. They can give us a call at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) and we can help them action plan and go through their options with them. Does your friend have any other support from a family member or other adult that they could reach out to for some of these answers? If not, we are here 24/7 and here to listen.

Best,

NRS

My friend who is 13 has no freedom or friends and is abused is wondering if they ran away till they were 18 could they get in trouble after returning home at 18 or does the indiana law of all charges as minor is dropped and can not be brought up in an adult case if true please help

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Thank you for reaching out to us here at National Runaway Safeline (NRS). We are not legal experts so we cannot say for sure what will happen when you turn yourself in. You could try contacting your caseworker before you turn yourself in. You may also want to consider reaching out to your local police through their non emergency phone number. If you don't feel comfortable contacting the police, we could call them for you. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us directly via our 24 hour crisis hotline (1-800-786-2929), or email.

So I’m 17 and I’ve been on the run from division of youth services for about 2 months now which is basically just Juvy in Missouri but i turn 18 in 2 months so i was wondering what will happen when i turn myself in before my 18th birthday because they can’t keep you past your 18th birthday i don’t think so anyways

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Hi,
Thanks for writing in. We’re not legal experts, but we can speak generally. Generally speaking, 18 is the age at which you can leave without guardian consent (in this case, DHS is your legal guardian). If you leave, DHS will likely file a runaway report. If the police are able to locate you, they will likely return you. That being said, we’ve sometimes seen police choose not to pursue a 17-year-old runaway, but we don’t know which police stations have which policies. If you’d feel comfortable, you can call your local non-emergency police line and ask about the situation hypothetically. If you’d like, we can also make that call for you if you call into our hotline. If you want to talk about your situation more specifically, please feel free to reach out to us anytime at 1-800-786-2929. Best of luck.

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Hello, thanks for reaching out. It sounds like you care about your boyfriend quite a lot. He is lucky to have such a loving and supportive girlfriend after having been through such a hard life especially!
It is not illegal to runaway so it may be that your boyfriend has other charges. It is great that he has been able to stay with you and your mom, however, be aware that if his guardian (maybe his aunt?) has filed a runaway report on him, that means any adult (like your mom) that is allowing him to stay with them is at risk for being charged with the crime of harboring a runaway if his guardian wants to pursue that criminal charge.
Since you mentioned your boyfriend has been abused by his aunt, you all have the right to report that. We can help with that if he calls us when he is out of juvenile detention or he can do it by reporting to someone at the facility he is at or calling the local child protective services. Child Help has a lot of information on child abuse, how to report, and getting custody transferred to a safe adult (perhaps your mom). You can reach them at 1-800-422-4453, childhelp.org.
Thank you for being so supportive of your boyfriend at such a difficult time. Best of luck with his charges and with your pregnancy! Feel free to call us anytime or have your boyfriend call us. We are open 24/7 every day of the year and also on our website on live chat 4-11pm CT every day. Call us anytime and make sure to take care of yourself through all of this! 1-800-786-2929

Hi I'm 17 I'll be 18 in September I'm due in June 3 months before my birthday I am a runaway from dhs will dhs leave me alone because I'm so close to my birthday

Okay hello my boyfriend ran months ago and been on the run staying with me for months but he been living with me since we met in my birthday and that was in October and now they sent him to a dentition facility in Iowa for juveniles and I am his girlfriend and he acts and looks grown but he only 16 but when we was talking he told me he was older but that's not the point I'm only 17 so we still together you know and he had court and they said he waived his hearing and they have him there and he had some charges but one had them had been dropped before he ran but typically it said 12 days average person stays in there and I feel like it's gonna be like a few weeeks but then I feel like it's going to be longer he hasn't called me yet but there is this process called the 3-7day process where we gets to basically call who he needs to call and stuff and they know I have contact with other his mom but she's all the way in Chicago and his aunt had him in her care for awhile now but she always kicked him out and threatened him and hit him all the time and I'm trying I figure out because I am pregannt with his child and I don't know what I'm supposed to do without him and I'm trying to get as much information as possible and I read like hella pages on the interen t and seen this and was hoping u could maybe help? I really miss him and want him to come back me and my mom have been giving him a place to stay but he acts really grown and he's always kinda been by himself so he does have a criminal record but yeah his court was yesterday and he's in a detention just in the a little further out and it's still in town tho just across town and I don't know if he just gonna have to serve days there for running or they will send him some place else ? Do u know like cause he is pretty good at playing his cards right in the facilities his birthday is January and he gonna be 17 and I'm worried about him being locked up with girls and stuff and his aunt don't like me there's just so many problems I need help with like i just want him to come back home. My home is his home but like I said his aunt is crazy and he's grown enough to actually make his own choices but I don't want him to have to be in there for along time like he hasn't been getting in trouble when he been staying with me ******** was ******** like we were doing so good together and nobody cares or understands and I'm tired of crying cause I need him here with me and he wants to live back with his mom like we even went up there and seen her together like my mom is like his mom and he didn't have nobody cause his aunt would just put him out all the time smh like idk I'm trying to see where they could just send him to the place he turned himself into the other day like will they keep him there or will they let him come back

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Hi,

Thanks for reaching out! You do not deserve to be abused or feel unsafe and alone. It’s important that you have options, so let’s look at some.

We are not legal experts at National Runaway Safeline, but we can talk generally about what happens when a runaway report is filed. Since you have left your guardian’s care, your dad has the option of filing a runaway report with the police department. This is not a criminal offense, it just means that they will do their best to find you and bring you home. If you are staying with a party over the age of 18, they are open to a misdemeanor of harboring a runaway.

Some police departments will not take a runaway report for 17 year olds because they are close to being on their own, and you are 6 months away, so this might apply to you. You can find this out by calling your local police department’s non-emergency number and asking generally what their policy is around taking runaway reports for a 17 year old. Another option is to call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY and we can call together to find out their policy.

There are programs through shelters for longer stay which help you get on your feet, these transitional living programs offer various services that might be helpful for you. For a list of transitional living programs in your area give us a call or chat.

You mentioned having a case open with DCF, do you feel comfortable talking to your case worker? It is their job to ensure your safety and well-being, however we understand sometimes there are other factors involved. If you feel comfortable discussing your situation with them, we encourage you to reach out and see if they have any options. If you would like support around talking to them or anyone else in your life, give us a call and we can call together to support you.

Again we’re really glad that you reached out to us. It takes a lot to ask for help and you are trying to figure out your options which is really good to see. If you would like to talk further about your situation, please do not hesitate to call or chat with us.

We’re here to listen, here to help.

Hey I’m currently 17 and turn 18 the first week of May . Dcf has been involved with my family for a long time cause of abuse I’ve reported i was taken out of my legal guardians house (my dad) just for a short amount of time on a safety plan where I was then placed with my grandparents then I went into a shelter cause I felt alone and ran away to the shelter I was there for a few weeks and now have been living with random friends or anyone until I turn 18 I want to move to st Pete with my boyfriend and his family of course not in the same house but with his family and I want to leave soon I just know my dads my guardian and will put out a missing persons report we have tried everything but we barely even talk but he still has a say in where I go it isn’t fair and I want to leave these peoples house ASAP

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Thank you for reaching out to the National Runaway Safeline. We want you to know that we are here to support you in any way we can.

We’re not legal experts here at NRS. But in most states, at 18 you are a legal adult, and you would not have to turn yourself in if you were previously reported as a runaway.

If you haven’t already, you could consider reaching out to a trusted adult, relative, worker/teacher/counselor at your school for help and support. If you haven’t already, you could also consider talking with your parents or guardians about how you’ve been feeling or ask someone else to help you talk with them.

There are also many resources that could help you find a safe place if you’re in need, help you talk through what you’ve been going through, or help you with anything else you may need. If you want to talk more about what’s been going on, or if you would like more information about resources, you can call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY (1-800-786-2929) or chat with us online.

Again, thank you or contacting us. You’ve shown a lot of strength by reaching out for help. If you ever need anything in the future, please feel free to call us or chat with us online. We’re always here to listen and here to help.