what would happen?

[ccsmod3]

RE: what would happen?

Hello there,

Thank you for contacting the National Runaway Switchboard. We are not legal experts, but we can do our best to answer your questions in a general sense. Running away is typically just a status offense which means you aren’t able to leave simply because you haven’t reached the age of majority (which is 18 in most states.) Your parent/guardian may have the option of filing a runaway report with your local police department. How the police treat 17 year old runaway youth can sometimes vary and they don’t always actively look for you.

However, to know for certain you (or someone else) would probably need to contact local law enforcement.
Sometimes youth who run away get in trouble for other crimes (such as breaking curfew or traffic violations) and then are found as runaways when police run their name in their NCIC (National Crime Information Center) database which is where they enter runaway reports. There are also crimes associated with adults who help runaway youth. To our knowledge, harboring (housing) a runaway, crossing state lines with a minor, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor are considered misdemeanors in most states. Hope that helps you out and please let us know if there is any other way we can help. We hope you are able to keep yourself safe. If you’d like to contact us directly you can call us 24/7 at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or through our Live Chat (www.1800runaway.org) which is open 4:30 to 10 pm CST. We are anonymous, confidential, and are not here to tell you what to do, but can listen and help you through options. Best of luck!

-NRS

What would happen if i left home at seventeen? could i be considered a runaway? could i go to jail? even though i would be 18 in 6 months could i still get in trouble?