18 Ky abusive family, need to leave now

[Unregistered]

I'm 18 in Ky, my mom is menatlly, physically, and emotionally abusive. She went into depression about two years ago and turned her pint up anger on me. She degrades me, abuses me, tells me things like: "I hope child services takes you away so you get beat and raped in your foster home" and horrible things like that.
I turned 18 on 3/9/15 and I want to know if there's anyway she could make me stay, or press charges on the family I'm going to move in with? I also wanted to know what I am allowed to take; if I take something she bought me can she charge me for theft? And if I leave without telling her is that running away, so could she go to the police and say I ran away?

[ccsmod13]

RE: 18 Ky abusive family, need to leave now

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out to us, it sounds like you are going through a very stressful situation right now. It is not right for your mother to treat you that way, everyone should be able to feel safe in their own home.

We aren’t legally but can speak in general terms. It is our understanding that once a youth turns 18, they are considered to be an adult. That means that if you were to leave home, your mother wouldn’t be able to file a runaway report or force you to return home because the police and the state would view you as an adult. Since we are not legal experts here, an option you have is to either call the non-emergency number to your local police station about what you would be allowed to take with you. If you do not feel comfortable doing so, you can go ahead and give us a call and we would be able to call the police station with you and help you figure this out. Another option would be for you to get in touch with legal aide in your area, but we would need the city that you are.

If you would like to talk more or if you are interested in resources that may be able to help you out, you can reach us 24 hours a day at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) but we also have online chat services that are available from 4:30 PM-11:30 PM (CST), 7 days a week and those can be found on our website (www.1800runaway.org).

Take Care,
NRS