Age of Majority

[Unregistered]

Hi,

If someone who has been on the run for a while has reached the age of majority in the state they ran from,18, but is now living in a state where the age of majority is 19, can they be returned to their family in the original state or are they free to exist since the runaway report becomes null when they turned 18? It seems like if the police of the 19 year old law state returned the person to the other state, they'd just be free to leave again.

[ccsmod10]

Re: Age of Majority

Hello There!


Thank you for reaching out to us here at the National Runaway Safeline. It sounds like you are concerned about the possibility of being returned home after moving to another state with a different age of majority. That’s certainly a difficult question.
We’re not legal experts here at the National Runaway Safeline, but can give you some input based on our experience. If someone leaves home and a runaway report is filed, the police may investigate and search for the youth, and if found, return them to their parents or guardian. Enforcement varies widely, from state to state, city to city, and even between local municipalities. One way to understand how the report might be enforced would be to call the local police non-emergency number where the report was filed, and just ask them. This call can be made confidentially, we can also help with that call.
There are other resources that can help, like legal aid. We hope all is ok, but please call us at our 24/7 Safeline number at 1-800-RUNWAY (786-2929) or live chat during chat hours that can be accessed through our website. We’re confidential, and here to help. If we know more, we can look for more specific information and resources.

Best of luck, and we’ll look forward to hearing from you soon.
NRS