Laws between states

[Unregistered]

i would like to know the laws in south carolina about running away. If someone ran away from south carolina to any state where it is legal to runaway in that particular state and caught while in that certain state can you be send back to your parents or does it depend on the state you came from?

[ccsmod3]

Re: Laws between states

Thank you for contacting the National Runaway Switchboard. We are not legal experts, so we can only provide general answers to your questions. Running away is normally just a status offense which means you can’t leave home without permission if you haven’t reached the age of majority (which is 18 in most states.) It is our understanding that youth who leave home typically have to follow the laws from the state their state of residence.


There are other laws associated with running away: harboring (housing) a runaway, crossing state lines with a minor, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. To our knowledge, these are usually just misdemeanors. However, other factors such as previous criminal history might affect the outcome as well. To know for certain, we encourage you (or someone you know) to contact your local police or sheriff’s department. Another option is to talk to someone from a legal aid agency. We’ve gone ahead and provided a referral for your state down below if you decide that is something you’d like to try.

South Carolina Legal Services
Centralized Intake Line: 888-346-5592

https://www.sclegal.org/

If you’d like to discuss your situation in more detail, we encourage you to contact us directly either by calling us toll-free 24/7 at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or by clicking on the red “Live Chat” button on our website. (Current Chat hours are 4:30 to 11:30 CST.) We hope that helps and look forward to hearing from you!

-NRS