runaway from illinois to another state

sorry for my gramer.

i am 17 and have runaway many times in texas. then my fam moved to illinoins and i ran away to texas when i was 16 and got arested and went to a center for 2 months now im back. but i am now 17 today and wanting to move to OK i have a place to stay but want to know the laws if i will be forced to go back or they cant do anything. ther is abuse in the family but in ilinois the police said what he does is ok its mainly because he is friends with them. i have gone in the whole cps system it dont work the system makes things more hard then they are

[ccsmod1]

Re: runaway from illinois to another state

Thanks for sharing a little bit about what’s been going on. We’re so sorry to hear that there’s abuse in your home. Home should be a place where you feel comfortable and safe. It must be really frustrating to seek help from the police and CPS, and have nothing come of it.

From what you wrote, you’ve runaway several times. You mentioned that now that you’re 17, you want to move to OK, but you’re wondering what the laws are. We’re not lawyers, so we can’t give you specific legal advice. However, we do know generally how the law works. In most states, up until you turn 18, you are considered a runaway and can be filed as a runaway with the police. Along with that, some cities/counties will still take a report at 17, but won’t make the youth return home if/when found. However, there are some areas that will no longer take runaway reports at 17. We have heard before in parts of IL that at 17 the police will no longer take a runaway report, but they will still take a missing person’s report. The difference between a runaway report and missing person’s report is usually that with a missing person’s report all you have to let the police know you’re safe and it gets removed, whereas with a runaway report you have to return home for it to be taken off. If caught out of state with a runaway report, they generally place you in juvenile detention until transportation home can be arranged.

The best way to find out what the laws are in your local area is to talk to someone in local law enforcement. One hurdle sometimes is that the police may tell you what the law is and not what is practiced (i.e. they’ll say 18, but in reality they don’t take reports for 17 year olds).

If you find out that you will still be considered a runaway until you turn 18, what do you think you’ll do? You wrote that you already have a place to stay in OK. Is this a place that your parents would think to look for you? What do you think would happen if you left, got caught and had to return home?

We certainly aren’t here to tell you what to do. We’re here to help you discuss what’s going on, different options and hopefully help you come up with a plan you’re comfortable with. We’d be happy to talk to you more in depth about any of this. If you do decide to leave, our number is toll-free from any payphone. If you get into a jam and need help, or if you just need someone to talk to about a plan, we’re here for that. If you need local resources, like shelters or drop-in centers, we can search our database for places that could help. Anything you think you need help with, we’d be happy to assist you any way we can.

Best of luck!

[Unregistered]

Moving Out In Rockford Il at age 17

Hi,
I'm attending college, I have a stable job and a safe place to live if I were to leave home. I have a 2yr old son and I don't feel comfortable at my "home" anymore. I'm planning to leave as soon as possible BUT I don't want to end up arrested or worse case scenario have my son involved with DCFS. I would really appreciate some advice before I make this move.

[ccsmod7]

Re: Moving out of Rockford IL at 17

Hello –

Thanks for reaching out with your questions and concerns. It sounds like you are in a stable situation right now and you would like to leave home but unsure what would happen because you are 17. 17 is tricky and it’s difficult to say how the police would handle that situation. In most states age of majority is 18 but depending on how close you are to being 18 and how stable you are the police may not do a whole lot. If you did leave and your parents made a report usually the most that would happen if the police found you they would most likely just tell you to go home. The way to get the most accurate information is usually to contact your local police on a non emergency line and just see how they would handle a 17 year old. We also found a legal aid resource that may be able to help. Prairie State Legal Services – (815) 965-2134.

Keep in mind that we are also here to help and support you. Our services are confidential and anonymous and there is always someone here to talk through the situation and provide support. We can discuss safe options and even find helpful local resources for you.

[Guest]

hi I am 15 and I live in Illinois and I have problems here at home so sometimes I'll run away to a friend's house for the night and still have to come home to an abusive mom.

[ccsmod2]

Hello There,
Thank you for reaching out to The National Runaway Safeline, we are here to help and here to listen. It sounds like you are dealing with a very difficult situation, we want you to know that you are not alone.
You do not deserve to be abused in any type of way, and we are sorry you are having to deal with that. You do have the right to file an abuse report and there are a few ways you can do that. One option is you can contact Child Help at: 1800-422-4453. They would be able to help in filing an abuse report for you. Another option is you could call us and we would be more than happy to help file an abuse report on your behalf.
There is a program specific to Illinois for youth 10-17 that may be able to help. It is called CCBYS, which stands for community comprehensive based youth services. You can get the phone number by going to a police station or by calling us.
We hope that this information will be helpful to you in your situation. If you have any other questions or would like to explore more options, please give us a call. We are here 24/7 to listen and to provide support. Best of luck!
NRS