What Happens if a 17 Year Old Leaves Home

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Louisiana

Hi so I am 16. I live in Louisiana and I want to leave home once I turn 17 which will be on September 14.
Let me just tell you some my story..
So when I was 14-15 I was getting in a lot of trouble while I was living with my mom. I've been to juvenile detention center twice. And so I eventually got taken away from my mom and now have to live with my father who treats me terribly.
So I'm wondering if by the time I've been 17 for a few months and I leave home or it will be considered running away I guess.. Will they send me to jail? Can or will the police even care to bring me back home since it wouldn't be very long until I am 18?
If the cops find me and know I'm safe what can they do? I'm worried that my father will tell them I just want to party and smoke and that's the only reason I left. And I wouldn't be able to defend myself since it's been that way in the past.
But that's not why I'm wanting to leave now. I want to leave and go live with my mom again. Not so I can do whatever I want.
So what's your opinion? What do I do?

First, since you've been to Juvie and been placed with your father....do you have any probation you need to complete or anything like that? Because you need to stick with whatever program/conditions given you. Which it seems like living with your father instead of you mom is part of the deal.

In what way is your father treating you terribly? If he lays down rules, that is not abuse. If he is abusing you (hitting you, etc) then you need to talk to your school guidance counselor.

So what do you do until you turn 18?

Get a job. Save money. Pick up a few apartment guides and plan a budget. Finish High School.

The day you turn 18 you are free and clear to leave and go live with mom or get your own place.

Re: The budget - needs to include: rent, utilities, food, transportation, staples (i.e. toilet paper, soap, deodorant, toothpaste). Don't forget to plan for things like dishes, silverware and cookware, trash can, laundry bucket, plunger, basic tool kit. And you should plan in advance on things like clothes, a bed, sheets, etc, because your parents are under no obligation to let you take anything that you have not purchased yourself.

When budgeting - since I don't think you have held a job yet...take your hourly wage times hours worked. Then subtract 33% for state and federal income taxes.

The age at which you can leave home without any possibility of being picked up as a runaway is 18. Not 17. 18.

Whether the police WILL send you back home, or back to Juvie, is unknown. But they CAN. And IMO, the chances that a runaway with a record will be sent back home, or back to Juvie, are a lot better than if you'd kept your nose clean and run under the radar in the past.

Quote:

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Quoting taygrace0916

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So when I was 14-15 I was getting in a lot of trouble while I was living with my mom. I've been to juvenile detention center twice.

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If you're still under juvenile court jurisdiction, whether due to probation or due to your conduct having caused you to be classified as a child in need of services, you should put your plan to runaway on hold until you're off. The court can toss you right back into detention.

As for what would happen if you're not already subject to juvenile court jurisdiction when you reach the age of 17, that will depend on the policies of the local police department. Some will escort you back home even if you can't be made a subject of a juvenile court petition based on running away, some will notify your parents where you are so your parents can drag you back home, and some may say that it's no longer their concern given that they cannot initiate a juvenile case.

Okay.
So I got in trouble when I lived in Mississippi, but last summer I moved to Louisiana. And I completed my probation from when I was in Mississippi.

You can still get in trouble being a runaway. You may end up in Juvie again instead of at mom's. Also, if there is any order saying you have to live with Dad, and you runaway to live at mom's, mom could face a lot of expensive legal issues.

Read what I said originally. 18 is the age you can just leave. And I do beg you to finish your high school education, in anyway possible, and hold onto a part-time job and save money.

Louisiana juvenile courts do not have original jurisdiction over a juvenile aged 17 or older, so unless the juvenile court has continuing jurisdiction the question is not "end[ing] up in Juvie again", but is what the police and parents will do to make the runaway child return home.