Runaway from a group home

[ccsmod7]

Hi Cece,

Thank you for reaching out to National Runaway Safeline (NRS). It takes a lot of courage to reach out and share what's been going on. We want you to know that we are here as support to help you through this challenging time.

While we are not experts on the law, 18 is generally the age that an individual may leave home without parent permission. If you are under 18 and leave home, your parent/guardian may file you as a runaway and you may be returned home. Also, those you stay with may run the risk of being charged with harboring a runaway. For more specifics on the law, the local non-emergency police or legal aid may better answer legal questions.

It sounds like you are feeling frustrated with your current placement and how you might not be able to celebrate your birthday the way you would like to and about how you are being generally treated at your placement. One option to consider might be to share with your placement about how their actions have been making you feel and exploring if it might be possible to reach a compromise about potential birthday plans. We acknowledge that sometimes speaking with adults can be difficult - perhaps you could invite your case worker or another adult that you trust to be a part of the conversation as well so you might have another advocate in your corner. We here at NRS are also here to help, support, and advocate as much as we can. We can best help by phone or chat as NRS is unable to respond more than twice by forum to assist you. If you would like to talk more in detail please call or chat soon.

Our contact information is 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929); www.1800runaway.org (click on the chat button).

If you are at risk of any danger or feeling unsafe, we encourage you to reach out to 911 or seek emergency assistance immediately.

Take care,
NRS

hey my name is cece and im 15 years old finna be 16 in november im in foster care and ion wanna be at the placement im at because she wont let me have my birthday how i wanna have it and she is very mean to me and wen i want to do sum its a no but wen she asks me to do stuff i say yes but its a no for me but yeh i want to run away bc i wanna have fun shes not lettinng me do nun at all. and she is very mean to me what should i do .

ccsmod3 I tried talking to one of the supervisors about moving out but they say that I would have to get my case manager (& the state) involved for that to happen and to learn how to drive… however those plans take longer to process and I can’t stand it, I just want to get away quicker

[ccsmod3]

Hi thank you for reaching out. That sounds like a frustrating situation that the people who are supposed to be caring for you have not been treating you properly. You deserve to be treated better and with respect. From what you have said, it seems like you are now longer under guardianship of anyone, which means you should be able to leave on your own free will. Though we are not legal experts, it could be helpful to talk with someone at this group home who you feel comfortable with and come up with a plan moving forward. It sounds like you have been feeling overwhelmed and hating the way in which you are living which is understandable with how you are being treated. We want to help as best as we can, so if you would like to talk more about this, please either call our hotline 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or chat us online at 1800runaway.org. We hope to hear from you soon.
Be safe,
NRS

I’m 31 years old w/ autism (I’ve been in a group home since 2019) I’ve been beginning to get myself together since I’m no longer in a guardianship & the staff/clients treat me like horse******** & the supervisors/caseworkers won’t even listen to me at all

im thinking about running away from the group home but im afraid of people trying to look for me

i hate life atm and I just want ******** to end

[ccsmod3]

Hi thank you for reaching out. It sounds like you are wanting to run away from your group home and wondering how to get into a different one. Likely, it would need to be a case worker or whoever has guardianship over you who can place you into a different one. An option would be to discuss this with staff at the group home or your case worker to figure out how to best help you. If you would like to talk more about this, please either call our hotline 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) or chat us online at 1800runaway.org. We hope to hear from you soon.
Be safe,
NRS

If kids run away from a group home due to not being treated good, can a person trying to help take them to another group home in a different county as requested by the runaways? And can the person helping get in trouble?

[ccsmod15]

Hi, thank you for contacting the National Runaway Safeline and sharing how you feel. You are brave for sharing. If you feel that the group home isn't a safe place to be, you leaving will not be consider as running away because you are over the age of 18. If there is any legal reason why you should still be living at the group home for example if you are not able to look after yourself because of mental issues or you are the subject of a court order then police or other officials may come to take you back to the group home. NRS hope that this information was useful to you.

hi I'm 20 I want to runaway.

[ccsmod9]

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out to National Runaway Safeline. It sounds like you have some questions and we hope to help answer them to the best of our ability. We are not legal experts, but from our understanding, if you are your own legal guardian, you are able to choose whether you leave or stay at the group home. Again, we don’t know your exact circumstances and this answer could vary depending on what group home you are in and the reasons you are there; however, if you would like to talk more in detail about your specific situation, we are always available to support 24/7 either from our hotline (1800RUNAWAY (786-2929)) or our live chat option (1800runaway.org). We hope to hear from you soon.

Stay safe,

NRS

Can I leave the group home I’m 30 and my own legal guardian but my mom is wanting me to stay and I’m wanting to go back to work

[ccsmod15]

Hi there,
Thank you for writing to us here at National Runaway Safeline (NRS). It seems you want to know some information on runaway laws.
While we are not experts on the law, 18 is generally the age that an individual may leave home without guardian's permission. If you are under 18 and leave home, your guardian may file you as a runaway and you may be returned home. Also, those you stay with may run the risk of being charged with harboring a runaway. For more specifics on the law, the local non-emergency police or legal aid may better answer legal questions.
We are here as support to help through this challenging time. We can best help by phone or chat as NRS is unable to respond more than twice by email to assist you. If you would like to talk more in detail please call or chat soon.
Our contact information is 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929); www.1800runaway.org (click on the chat button).
If you are at risk of any danger or feeling unsafe, we encourage you to reach out to 911 or seek emergency assistance immediately.
Be safe,
NRS

Hi I’m 16 years old and I ran away from CPS like 5 month’s ago,and I’m planning on returning but all I wanna know is what would be the Consequences when I return?

[ccsmod10]

Hi, it sounds like you've been in a really frustrating situation for a long time. It's good that you're looking out for yourself and for a way to make a change.

The way that law enforcement handles runaways can vary from state to state and even county to county, so it's hard for us to give a definite answer. Technically, your case worker could file a runaway report with them and they would be entitled to search wherever they thought you were (though typically it stops at them knocking at the door of whomever they suspect is housing you). Rarely will they force you to return home if you insist you won't, or that it isn't safe there. They do technically have the right to, however.

As far as emancipation goes, you typically have to already be earning enough money to prove that you could financially support yourself. In some states it's even required that you already be living on your own. It's a difficult process, for sure.

We're here to help as best we can if you want to talk things through further. Our live chat is always open at 1800runaway.org or you can call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY.

im 17 and in a group home and all the girls in my group home hate me and try to fight me every single day and the make up lies about me and i told staff and they did nothing about it but back the other girls up and im thinking about running away today i will be with one of my friends and ill be safe and i turn 18 in 6 months you think that the cops will take me back to that group home or will they level me up to a higher care or will they look and give up looking. I tried to ask my social worker to be emancipated but she says that I cant do it but she wouldn't tell me why i couldn't. what do i do?