Helping my 17 y/o friend with some issues

[Guest]

im not sure if this is the right section for this but im sure ill get told where to head with it.
my friend is getting abused by his adopted father at home and was taken out of the house by CYS to a center to wait at till the matter was resolved. the mother had filed that my friend had runaway from home and had him brought back home by a police officer while the abuse case was still open. according to my friend, the abuse is still ongoing and he is considering trying to get away again. I just want whats best for him and dont want him to get hurt or in trouble cause of it

[ccsmod3]

Thank you so much for reaching out. It sounds like your friend is in a really tough spot right now. We aren't legal experts, but in general parents do have the right to file a runaway report if their child leaves home without permission. It isn't illegal but it is a status offense and if found they are usually returned to their parents. Police aren't supposed to return kids to a place where they are being abused. This doesn't always happen, but they are supposed to investigate the claim before returning the youth. If your friend has a case worker, they might be able to help your friend find a place to stay for the time being. ChildHelp can also answer questions pertaining to handling the abuse and how reports work. Their number is (800)422-4453. If you want to pass along our number we would be happy to talk about your friend's options with him. We're available 24/7 at 1800RUNAWAY and over chat at nationalrunawaysafeline.org