Moving out at 17 in California

[ccsmod9]

RE: Moving out at 17 1/2 from Arizona to California

Hi there,

Thank you for posting on the National Runaway Safeline bulletin board. It sounds like you have really stepped up and researched this topic, and we must applaud you on that. You sounds very determined. What's going on at home that is causing you to want to leave?

You're correct in that the emancipation process make take longer than you'd like, until you're 18. Though we're not legal experts here at NRS, we can tell you that in general, the law says that your parents have the right to file a runaway report until you're at the age of majority, which is usually 18. If your parents file a runaway report, this is called a status offense, and the police can return you home. However, since you're close to the age of majority, there's a chance they won't pursue a runaway report. One way to find out how the police will respond in your area is to contact your local non-emergency number and ask them these questions hypothetically. You may also want to contact the local police in the area you plan on moving to in California to find out their response.

If you would like to talk further, we answer our crisis hotline at the National Runaway Safeline 24 hours a day and 7 days a week; that number is 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929). We can also chat online; our chat service is available from 4:30 to 11:30 pm Central time every evening and can be initiated by going to our website www.1800runaway.org and clicking the red button in the upper corner. We hope to hear from you soon!

Best of luck,

NRS

[iNeedHelp]

I Need Answers.

Hi I just turned 17 . I will be 18 in a year. I was wondering if I leave my house & my mom calls the cops on me , will I be forced to go back home? Im currently looking for a job but my parents don't want me to work . I already graduated from school at 16 . If I move out my house I have more chances & oppertunities to find a job . Living with my parents I cant. Please help me thank you.

[ccsmod9]

RE: I Need Answers.

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out to us and sharing your questions with us here at the National Runaway Safeline. It sounds like you want to grow in life by finding a job and that living at home is difficult for you because your parents are not supportive of your aspirations. We’re glad you reached out. We’re here to help in any way we can.

Though we’re not legal experts here at NRS, we can give you some general information about leaving home. In general, the age of majority in most states is 18, so when leaving home before you’re 18, your parents are able to file a runaway report. This means that the police can return you home if you are located. Do you have somewhere you can go if you leave home? We can help you come up with options of where you may go when you leave home. We have a database of resources to help if that interests you.

If you’d like to talk about all of this further, we are available to talk 24/7 at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929). You can also chat with us from 4:30 to 11:30 pm Central time by going to www.1800runaway.org and clicking the red button in the upper corner. We hope to hear from you soon.

Best of luck,

NRS

[Unregistered]

Moving out of my dad's house

I am 17 and I plan on moving out of my dad's house and into my mother's. However, legally I am supposed to live with my dad full time and only visit my mother. I plan on enrolling to a school by my mother's house where I will start my last year of high school, and she can financially support me. Can the police return me to my father's house if he filed a runaway report?

[ccsmod10]

RE: moving out of dad's house

Hi there,

Thanks for contacting NRS. You have some great questions about what might happen if you leave. Is there something in particular going on at your dad's house that is causing you to want to leave? Although we are not legal experts and the ins-and-outs of custody is not something we can speak to, we can tell you that if you were to leave home without permission from your legal guardian, they would have the right to file a runaway report. In this case, if your dad is your primary legal guardian, it is likely that he would be able to file the report and that you would be returned to him if you did leave.

One option that you have is to talk with both of your parents about your living situation and how you are feeling. You can even call us at 1-800-RUNAWAY 24 hours a day and we can talk more about doing a conference call with your mom or dad. Additionally, you can call your local police station to find out about laws specific to your area to find out what might happen in your exact situation. It's great that you felt comfortable reaching out and in addition to calling, you are always welcome to chat with us from 4:30-11:30pm CST at 1800runaway.org.

- NRS

[Unregistered]

Leaving home at 17

What can you do if you are unhappy at home? My mother has a lot of condition and her doctor wants here to go into a in home living. I no longer know what to do I can't always take care of her. I feel as if I stay here I will never move on with my life and live my dreams . I'm going to be 18 on Feb. 15 of 2014. I have a stable home to go stay with and they have a job line up for me there. It is also in a different state. What can happen if I go? Will they get into trouble by the law. Or can they really do anything about me going out of state. I just want to make sure I can be able to provide for my mom and be happy at the same time but I can not do it in the house hold. My mom needs the help but she won't take it.

[ccsmod14]

Re: Leaving home at 17

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out to us at National Runaway Safeline. It sounds like you have been having a really difficult time and we are sorry to hear that. It has got to be really hard living at home with your mom when she is experiencing medical issues.

So it sounds like you have a safe place to stay that isn’t at home with your mother, but it is in a different state. We are not legal experts here, but what we can tell you is that running away is not illegal. It is a status offense, so typically what would happen is if your guardian were to make a runaway report, and the police found you, they would just bring you back home. It is good to hear that you have a safe alternative place to live. Have you thought about a plan B, if things were to not work out there?

It sounds like you are somewhat torn on what to do regarding helping your mom and moving on as you are growing up and want to do your own thing. Is there anyone else around that is willing to help your mom out during this time?

We are here to support you the best that we can. If you would like to talk more about your situation or need any resources please call into our 24/7, confidential and anonymous hotline at 1 800 RUNAWAY, or you can join us on chat between 4:30pm to 11:30pm CST.

We wish you the best of luck and hope to talk to you again soon.

Stay safe,
NRS

[helpme]

I want to move from state lines

I am turning 17 in October but I want to know this now because I know my parents will not want to let me go at 17 . I will graduate high school in this December and I am planning on leaving to North Dakota on January because my friend is a manager of a McDonald's and he is willing to give me a place there. But by the time i graduate there will be 9 month left for me to turn 18 . I live in California ( Los Angeles ) and have no criminal record . Please respond and show me some options please. Thank you

[ccsmod14]

Re: I want to move from state lines

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out to us here at National Runaway Safeline. We are here to help you out the best that we can by providing you support and resources.

So it sounds like you have made some plans to leave home and stay with a friend in a different state. Have you ever stayed with this friend before? We do not tell you what to do one way or another, because you know your situation better than we do. Our primary concern is always safety; we want to make sure that you are safe in everything that you do.

It seems like you are not happy at home. Is there anything specific that is bothering you at home and making you want to leave? What would need to happen in order for you to stay home?

We offer conference calling here at National Runaway Safeline. That means that if you called in, we could make a call out to a guardian with you to act as a facilitator to mediate a conversation between the two of you.
We are not legal experts here, but what we can tell you is that if you leave home before the age of 18, in most states you are still considered a minor which means your legal guardian has the right to make a runaway report with the local police department. Typically, if your guardians were to file a report, and the police found you, they would just bring you back home. Running away is not illegal, it is a status offense, similar to a parking ticket.
Again, we are not going to tell you whether or not you should leave home. There are a few things that might be helpful to think about while deciding what your next move will be:

What else can I do to improve my home situation before I leave?
What would make me stay at home?
How will I survive?
Is running away safe?
Who can I count on to help me?
Am I being realistic?
Have I given this enough thought?
What are my other options? If I end up in trouble, who will I call?
When I return home, what will happen?

We are here 24/7 at 1 800 runaway. Our hotline is anonymous and confidential. If you would like to talk more about your situation, or if you need any resources or help in the future we are here. We also have a chat option available 4:30pm to 11:30pm CST, through our website at 1800runaway.org.

Good luck and stay safe,
NRS

[Unregistered]

Help

Hello my mom is a drug addict and has custody of my brother sister and I.She has never raised us all of my life it has been our grandmother raising us my mother is currently getting a lump sum of child support every 2 weeks she spends it on herself and pays my grandma around 400 that is the only money that is actually used on my siblings and I is there any way she can get custody of us and that money can go to my grandma so she can afford to keep us as you can imagine it's quite expensive raising 3 teenagers it is terrible to live with an addict let alone if she is your mother I have wanted to run away several times and have once my mothers presence makes me wants to run away even though I love my grandmother so much.

[ccsmod0]

re: help

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out tonight and sharing your story with us. It sounds like you’re going through so much with your mom and with her addiction. You sound incredibly strong to have gone through so much and to be so brave throughout this whole situation. You absolutely deserve to live in a supportive and safe environment. It sounds like you understand that and that you reached out to try and put together a plan to make that happen. We’re really glad that you reached out for some support. So let’s see how we can help you out and see if we can put together some next steps for you.

You mentioned that you’re working on getting custody transferred to your grandmother. Usually the easiest way for that to happen is if your mom was on board. Do you think there’s any way that she would be convinced to allow that to happen? Sometimes thinking through if there are family members or family friends who could talk with her about that could be an option to try and convince her.

It sounds like that your grandmother is the only one caring for you right now. If your mom isn’t able to care for you, you have the right to file an abuse report. Making that report can be a way to get custody transferred without needing the permission of your mom. What might happen is that the state would look into where you are living and who is supporting you and they could remove custody from your mom and place it with your grandma. We’re not sure where you are, but if you google your state’s child abuse reporting line, you can call them 24 hours a day.

Ok, we hope that this is a few options for you to start with. We are here to further talk about next steps and how to get the support that you are looking for. You deserve the most support and we’re glad that it seems like you’re comfortable reaching out for help. Please know that we are here 24 hours a day at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929). We are anonymous and confidential. If you aren’t able to call in, you can chat with us through our website (www.1800runaway.org) from 4.30pm-11.30pm Central Time.

We look forward to talking more through our phone or chat.

Best of luck to you,

NRS

[Unregistered]

Moving out at 17 in California

I'm 17 years old and I will be turning 18 in January 2014. My mother passed away in 2011 and I was forced to live with my older sister that is 26 now and she does not have her situation together as far as my guardian. She is not my legal guardian. We never got it legalized and she does not collect any money for taking care of me. She gets money from a casino for us being native American so due to that she spends all her money on marijuana and alcohol and has me watching her kids all the time (sometimes super late on school nights) and when she's under the influence I get yelled at and talked down on. I'm trying to finish up my last year of high school and she and her ex convict boyfriend are bringing me down. Her boyfriend feels like he can call the shots and tell me what to do even though he's been in and out of prison and my sister takes his side. It makes me feel uncomfortable and I want to leave asap!!! I will do just fine living with my boyfriend and his grandmother. My boyfriend pays rent and they will be more than happy to take me in. I will have transportation to school and I'm currently looking for a job. I want to get emancipated so I can move out and counselors are willing to help me with this because they know my situation. I want to know if I can leave my house now since I do not have a legal guardian?

[ccsmod8]

RE: Moving out at 17 in California

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time out to write to us here at the National Runaway Safeline, we are always here to listen and here to help. From what you have told us about your situation, it sounds like you have been going through a very difficult time right now. It must be hard for you to have lost your mother earlier in 2011 and then it seems like your sister is not being the most helpful person right now. You certainly don’t have to be treated that way. You’re definitely strong for being able to live in that situation and go to school every day to graduate to remove yourself from that environment.

Unfortunately, here at the NRS we cannot tell you in definite terms on what would happen for someone under the age of 18 years old to leave without parental permission because we are not legal experts. Laws on that specific subject vary from state to state, so our advice would be call your local non-emergency police number to get more information on that. Some states do treat those that are 17 years old or those close to 17, as legal adults and they can leave at any time and other states wait until the youth is 18 years old. So that’s why we are recommending that you do get into contact with someone in your state to get a real definite answer on that. But it sounds like you have been thinking about running away for a while now, you even have a plan to move in with your boyfriend and his grandmother. How do you think your sister would react if you were to leave?

Now you stated that you were thinking about getting emancipated and that there are people willing to help you go through that process. Now from our knowledge going through that process is very long since you do have to go through the various court systems to achieve that. Here is some information on the subject: http://www.lsc-sf.org/wp-content/upl...e_Jan-2011.pdf

[Unregistered]

18 in 1 week

hi, im 17 and ill be 18 in a week from tomorrow. I would like to leave today. what will be the consequences if any? I have completed school and am now taking courses at sac city community college.

[ccsmod2]

RE: 18 in 1 week

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out to us. Technically, you would be a runaway if you left home at 17 without the approval of your guardian. Anyone who allows you to stay with them might be accused of harboring a runaway. However, many police stations will not take runaway reports for 17 year olds. Generally speaking, the closer you are to 18, the less likely there will be any sort of robust legal consequences or serious police response.

Of course, we have no way of knowing what could happen, nor are we legal experts. It’s ultimately your choice if you’d like to take the very small risk of negative consequences of moving out now, or remain fully within your legal rights and move out when you turn 18 in a week.

If you would like to talk about this more we are here for you. Call us any time. Good luck!