15 year old friend has abusive parents

Hi, thank you for reaching out. It sounds like you care a lot about your friend and are trying to help as best as you can. Your friend never deserves to be slapped or treated the way she is currently being treated. It sounds like your friend has been smoking weed for a while, but that her parents and other family members do so as well. While we are not legal experts and cannot say exactly what the outcome would be if she were to make a report to Child Protective Services, that is always as option. To get more information on emancipation or a way for your mom and stepdad to get custody of her, the best thing would be through some legal aid resources, which we can help locate for you. To get resources or for either you or your friend to share more about the situation and to discuss some options, 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 am 16 years old and have known this friend for over 7 years. Her mom has always been a little odd/mentally ill. It wasn’t ever a huge problem until recently. My friend has had drug problems (smoking weed). Her mom and stepfather allow her to continue smoking, but they often scream, slap her, and threaten to call the police on her. The only reason they haven’t is because they also smoke and we live in a state in which weed is only legal for medical purposes. They use it recreationally. As much as she wants to report them to child services, she is afraid of being caught/fined for smoking. How much of the blame would be placed on the parents for her drug problems? And how difficult would it be for her to move into my home under my mom and stepfathers care? She doesn’t have any family other than her dad and uncle who are also drug addicts. I obviously do not want her to go into foster care, as i’ve heard the horror stories about foster parents. She turns 16 in a couple of weeks and I plan on helping her find a job to support herself, but her mom told her to move out as soon as she gets a job. My last questions are, how difficult is emancipation, and can she move into our home after getting a job? I also apologize if i got anything incorrect, i’m new to this site and just need help, please and thank you.

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