runaway laws in california

[Unregistered]

What exactly are my rights??

I'm 17 years old, turning 18 in 6 months. I have repeatedly ran away. I have recently ran about 2 weeks ago. I thought that maybe there was a slim chance that I might have lasted but I have been failing physically, mentally,socially, and academically. All my life I've been through hell. I've been through foster homes and have been mentally and physically abused since I can remember. I've had enough. I want to be able to be around people and be normal. I dropped out of school due to being repeatedly sent home. And I've been placed in virtual studies but I am under no circumstances going back to my legal guardian.
Now I'm in a rough spot. I ran away and need to know what I'm entitled to. I need my birth certificate and SSN to get a job and support myself. I read that the police will most likely waste their manpower to look for teens like me due to my age. I really need some info on what im entitled to so /i can take charge of my life. Please and thank you

[ccsmod6]

RE: What exactly are my rights??

Hi there,

Thank you for contacting us through our online forum here at National Runaway Safeline (NRS). We are sorry you have experienced abuse by your guardians. You made a decision to leave home to relieve yourself from the stresses and pains of being abused. Advocating for yourself and deciding to leave sounds like a difficult decision but you felt the need to do it. We are glad you reached out for some help getting access to some important legal documents and understanding your rights. Oftentimes, in order to obtain certain documents you need some form of legal document with your name, date of birth, and most recent address. Sometimes further information is needed to retrieve those documents as well. We are best able to help you if you spoke directly with us through our free, 24/7, confidential crisis line 1-800-786-2929 or chatted with us through our website. We are here to explore what steps you have already taken and further explore what other options and resources can best help you.

We hope that you reach out soon so that we can assist you with some of the concerns you mentioned. You show bravery, strength, and responsibility in reaching out.

Be safe and stay strong,

NRS

[Unregistered]

California 14 run away

I have ran away from do to being scolded all the time and i hate it i have been hit before but he stopped hitting me ever since i called Cps on him and he hit me a couple times after that. But i feel like i cant do anything right. I always do what im told and i still cant figure my father out. So i just want to move with my uncle and aunty what do i have to do in order to go and live with them legally and never see my dad again

[ccsmod1]

RE: California 14 run away

Thank you for writing to Runaway Safeline. You are facing a very tough situation, and it’s good to reach out for help.
The most important thing to say is that everyone deserves to be treated with respect. Your dad’s hitting you is never ok. And it also makes sense that it would be hard to know what to think when faced with that situation.
CPS exists to protect people from circumstances like that. You could reach out to them again if you want to. Hopefully they will assign a case worker who’s priority will be your safety. You can share your concerns and worries with them. If you are considering this option, you can also call us so we can talk through what to expect.

Also, it does sound like you have people you can turn to for support, like your uncle and aunty. If you haven’t already, you might share your fears and needs with them to see what they can do to help make that a reality.
You can also give us a call. Part of what we do is help youth talk through the steps they want to take, and come up with a plan that they are comfortable with.
Good luck.

[Unregistered]

Confused

I am 16 and I am moving out of my house and moving in with my sister and her roommates who are all 18 and 2 of them are boys. If my parents called the cops what would happen?

[ccsmod7]

Re: Confused

Hi there,

Thank you for contacting us through our online forum. We’re glad to hear that your sister is so supportive of you.

We’re not legal experts here, but in general, if you leave home without their permission, your parents could file a runaway report with the police. If that were to happen, the police would be authorized to return you home. Running away is usually just a status offense and not criminal in nature. However, your sister and her roommates could be at risk for harboring a runaway. Sometimes it’s up to the police whether that charge is implemented and in some police districts it’s up to the parents of the runaway whether they want to press charges.

We hope this information is helpful and we invite you to reach out to us directly if you want to discuss your situation in more detail.

Best of luck,
NRS

[Unregistered]

Re: runaway laws in california

My dad kicked me out of the house. So I left. Now its just him, my mom, and my sister are in the house. Ive been staying with a friend. I got a text from my mom saying she was going to report be as a runaway. Can the people im staying with get in trouble for keeping me at there house. What can I do? Who can I stay
with? Is it legal for me to stay at a friend/boyfriends house?

[ccsmod3]

Re: runaway laws in california

Hello there,

Thanks for taking time to share a bit about your situation on our forum. You raise a lot of really great questions and we will try to answer to the best of our ability as non-legal experts. Please keep in mind we’re not here to judge you or anyone else helping you in any way. You don’t deserve to be kicked out of your home and we imagine it’s frustrating getting a text from your mom saying she’s going to report you as a runaway. Running away is normally considered a status offense. However, harboring a runaway, crossing state lines with a minor, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor can be legal risks for adults helping a runaway. If you’re concerned with getting other people in trouble, an alternative option might be a nearby runaway or homeless shelter. We can search our database if we know your city and in the meantime you’re welcome to check out the National Safe Place programs in California. http://nationalsafeplace.org/ Hopefully this helps and feel free to try out our Live Chat (instant messaging) at 4:30pm CST/2:30pm PST today. Good luck!

[Unregistered]

I have Ran Away!!

I have ran away from my dads house he is mean and I dont want to live their and every time my mom finds me I have to go back to my dads and I dont want too

[ccsmod3]

Re: I have Ran Away!!

Hello there,
Thanks for reaching out on our forum. We’re sorry your dad is mean to you and it’s understandable you wouldn’t want to go back to his house. Please know we aren’t here to judge you in any way and simply care about your safety. If you need a safe place to go, one place to start is National Safe Place http://nationalsafeplace.org/. If you’re in California, there are several safe place shelter options. If you’re in another state and happened to stumble across the California thread, that’s okay too and we can look up other resources. Hopefully that helps and best of luck!

[Unregistered]

Runaway law

I have an 18 daughter. She ran away this morning. It was with a boy.She was found and brought back. She is a high school student and has not graduated yet. Do I, as a her patent have any legal rights? If she... God forbid...I don't know if my heart could stand that horror again. My child is gone.
I would also like to state, I don't know if it matters. Our home isn't having any kind of conflicts. Such as drugs, alcohol, abuse (of any kind).
Thank you for any information.

[ccsmod16]

Re: runaway laws in california

Hello,

Thank you for contacting us here at National Runaway Safeline. That sounds like a really scary situation that you went through, but we are glad that your daughter is back and safe, according to the first line of your statement.

Since your daughter is 18 years old she is considered a legal adult in most states, which means she is allowed to leave the home without your consent. In most places, once your daughter turns 18, it's unlikely that you would be able to report her as a runaway. The only exception being that some areas might still take a report if your daughter is still in high school, however, that's quite rare.

To get more detailed information about your specific state, we suggest giving us a call at 1-800-RUNAWAY we may be able to provide more thorough resources with more information.

We’re glad to hear that your family and home do not suffer from any conflicts such as drugs, alcohol, or abuse. We suggest speaking with your daughter about why she feels the need to run away, because there could be many reasons that do not have to do with what you mentioned. We suggest using a mediator, or someone both you and your daughter trust to talk about some of the things going on between you, like a neutral third party or counselor. You could also use our services at 1-800- RUNAWAY to mediate a talk between you and your daughter.

We’re here to listen. We’re here to help.

Best,
NRS

[Marquis1]

My girl

Hey, my girl is 17 and turns 18 in 5 months. Her mom is verbally abusive towards her, consistently tearing her down emotionally. But whenever my gf tries to have a calm conversation with her mom about all the bull$$$$ she puts her through, she always blows up on her saying that none of it is true and is always denying it. My girl has anxiety because of all this so she tends to cry and when she does her mom tells her to stop acting like a child and that she's crying over nothing. She wants to move in with my dad and I as soon as possible to get away from her mom. She has a job and is in college, she just has yet to turn 18. I'm done with having my girl feeling broken and helpless, she needs to get out of there.

[ccsmod9]

RE: My girl

Hello there,

Thanks for reaching out to us here at National Runaway Safeline.

We’re really sorry to hear about all these things that are happening to your girlfriend. It sounds like she’s having a really hard time communicating with mom. That must be so hard for her. She’s really lucky to have a partner like you that is so supportive.
We’re not legal experts here, but generally speaking she needs to be 18 in order to move out without her mother’s permission. In the event that she did leave without consent, mom has the right to file a runaway report with the local police. If the police came to get her at your house, your father could possibly face “harboring a runaway” charges. These can range in severity, but is usually a misdemeanor. If you wanted to know more, you could try calling your local police non-emergency phone number to clarify. You might even ask about their policy for runaways who are so close to being 18. It’s not uncommon for police departments to just leave a runaway alone if they’re near adult age and are safe. If you’re uncomfortable placing this call yourself, feel free to call in here at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929) and we’d be happy to help.

Although it verbal/emotional abuse can often be difficult to prove, your girlfriend does have the right to report the abuse happening at home. The choice is completely up to her, but if she wanted to find out more about abuse reporting, please direct her to www.childhelp.org.
Also, while it is great that you’re being an amazing partner by reaching out to us on her behalf, it might also be helpful to provide her with our phone number or website (where she can Live Chat with us). It sounds like there’s a lot going on at home and she might need to speak to someone directly about how to deal with her mom.
We really hope you both find this information useful.

Stay Strong,
NRS

[Unregistered]

re: what do I do

Im 16 and Ive been considering the option of running away for quiet some time now, I live with my dad and my sister he drinks all the time and I feel like me being around him puts him in a bad mood, the cops have been called multiple times from him hitting me, I was even sent to a hospital for wanting to commit suicide. I got out about a month ago and nothings changed. The open a case and got cps involved, but they dropped the case. My mom lives 45 mintutes away and he wont let me see her just because she got me a phone. He wont let me get a job. Or go to freinds or allow any freinds to come over, and I feel completly isolated. He also works at a prison which dont make things much better it seems like he treats me like an inmate. I honestly dont know what to do or how I should go about doing it... I was hoping I can get some feed back on what I should do. I wanna runnaway to california because I know many people there and its also my home state, I really miss living there and I also have family that might be able to help me out.