17, Considering leaving home. I just have a few questions.

[Unregistered]

I'm 17 years old and I live in Texas.
As such, I'm very sure the law for dealing with "runaways" is very different here.
I'm not considering leaving very soon, but its currently an option up in the air before I have to start applying and paying for colleges.

My main questions are:
*Am I still considered a minor if I leave home?
*What can I expect to happen if Im detained by police?
*Is there money involved when dealing with runaways and would anyone in my family be dealing with expenses if they attempted to search for me?
*Are there places that deal with runaways or am I expected to deal with it on my own?
*I am African American, do police have a history of dealing with black youth runaways well?

etc. I might ask more if I feel the need to. These are all I'm curious about, thank you very much for your time in advanced.

[ccsmod6]

RE: 17, Considering leaving home. I just have a few questions.

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out to us today at the National Runaway Safeline. It's great that you are trying to figure things out before you make a quick decision. It sounds like you are exploring your options which is great. We are not legal experts, but we can provide some general answers to your questions. 1) If you leave home while under the age of 18 and your state recognizes 18 as the age of majority, then yes you would still be considered a minor if you left home (until you turn 18 ). 2) If you are detained by the police, they may keep you in juvenile detention or take you to a runway shelter. This depends on specific state protocol. 3) Regarding money involved with runaways, we are not certain of any specific expenses, but if your parents wanted to expand their search for you, that may potentially cost some money. There are community agencies that generally assist with locating a missing minor free of charge. 4) There are shelters that runaway and homeless youth can turn to for a safe haven. If you ever found yourself in need of a place to stay due to leaving home, we could help locate resources in your area if you called in or chatted with us. 5) We cannot say of the nature that police handle runaway cases based on race or ethnicity as this varies from state to state as well.

As mentioned, we are only able to provide general information. If you would like to talk more about what is making you want to leave home, we are here to listen and to help.

We are here for you in any way that we are able to. If you can reach out soon, we would be happy to help as best as we are able to. We hope you are safe in whatever decision you choose and wish you luck.

Take care,

NRS

[Unregistered]

I am very much safe, me considering this is ultimately to protect others from me, thank you very much for the concern and the answers I really appreciate it.

If you don't mind my asking I also have one more question.

Can I be tracked through my phone? Whether it be just me holding onto it or texting someone. I know there's a way to be tracked through calls but I do wonder if its possible to be tracked through texting or even having the possession of my phone?

[ccsmod1]

RE: 17, Considering leaving home. I just have a few questions.

Hello,

Thanks for getting back to us. We are not legal experts or experts on technology. Law enforcement has the ability to track phones under certain circumstances, but sometimes require a search warrant to do so. Whoever pays your cell phone bill may have the ability to track it through their cell phone service carrier. It may be possible to track your phone, but whether or not anyone will track it depends on the circumstances. As we said before, since you are 17, the police in your state may not even make an active search for you if you leave. The best way to find out exactly what actions your local law enforcement would take is to call the non-emergency police number to ask questions about their policies. If you need to talk, we are here for you.

Wishing you the best of luck,

NRS

[Unregistered]

Help?

Im 17, going to be 18 in April, and live in southern Oklahoma. I was wondering what would happen if i was to leave where im living now, my grandparents not with my parents anymore, and move in with either a friend the same age as me or my boyfriend and his brothers and grandpa who is almost 25. I have a very stable job with pretty good income, a car in my name, a 3.5 GPA, and should graduate by the end of December. My boyfriends brother and his girlfriend tried to leave a couple months ago, she is going to be 18 in October, but stole money from our workplace. The cops and her parents got involved, of course, and they said if her parents paid what she stole then they would just stop looking for her and let her go, is this possible? I live in a small town of only about 3,000 people. Also, i was wondering if this safeline could call my local police department for me and see what they would say about something like this? I dont know if since im almost 18 and not living at home but with my grandparents if they could take me back to them or even to a girls home. I have been on probation once before this summer for 6 months for a public intox charge but my PO said i was doing fine and i wasnt to be worried about. I also have a very bad home life which is why i live with my grandparents now. My father is a bipolar alcoholic with a bad addiction to pain pills, any kind you can get, and benzos. He drinks almost two 30 packs a night and has even made me drive him to get more at 1 am. My mother also drinks but refuses to believe me that he does these drugs even though i have shown her cold, hard proof. One time he called me, his 16 year old daughter at the time, to pick him up from a "party" and take him home because he was too high to know where he was and what was going on. I have two younger sisters who still live at home with them which worries me to death about their safety. My sister called my ex-boyfriend one night so he could hear just how verbally and physically abusive my dad is. After he had heard my dad cussing me out and hitting me a couple times he called his mom who is a DHS worker and reported them for child abuse which resulted in a house call and even more abuse after they had came and done the interviews. I figured all of this would help me in some way to get emancipated in the state of Oklahoma or help me in any way at all to get away from my family. My dad has also been arrested once before for domestic violence on my mother but has continued to abuse her since i was 3. He has had other arrests for DUI's and bench warrants being out on him which he also has several now. What could i do or what could happen? I have been almost fully supporting myself and my sisters since February when i got my job. Please help as soon as possible.

[ccsmod6]

RE: Help?

Hello there,

Thank you for reaching out to us here at the National Runaway Safeline. It takes great courage to reach out, and we are glad that you did. It sounds like you and your family have been through some challenging and scary times which has left you in the care of your grandparents. You mentioned there was abuse from your parents which is not fair to you or your siblings. Nobody deserves to be mistreated in any way. If you are concerned about the safety of your siblings, you do have the option of calling police to do a check on the home as well as file another report with child protective services. We find that multiple reports may help with situations where abuse is ongoing. It often requires proof of negligence or abuse (usually photos or police reports).

You ask a lot of really important questions about moving out that we unfortunately do not have specific information on because we are not legal experts. In general circumstances, whomever is your legal guardian has the right to say where you are to live since 17 is considered a minor in most states. At age 18, an individual is considered their own legal guardian and can choose to move out if they wish. It's best to consult with local law enforcement for legal answers. And we absolutely can call the police on your behalf to get those specifics answered for you, however, we find that we are able to help best if you reach out through phone or chat, 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929), www.1800runaway.org . Whenever you are ready to call in or chat with us, we are here for you and ready to make that call.

We hope to hear from you soon and hope you stay safe.

Take care,

NRS