My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Florida
My niece will be 17 next week. She is a ward of the state because her father is deceased and her mother's rights were terminated. She ran away from the group home she lives in and has a place to stay. She receives SSI and wants to have her baby and have the state leave her alone. What are her rights, if any? And can she, or someone on her behalf, hire an attorney to help get her out of state custody? Does being pregnant give her any rights?
What Happens if a Ward of the State Runs Away
Printable View
-
08-15-2016, 05:30 AMangicornelius@gmail.comWhat Happens if a Ward of the State Runs Away
-
08-15-2016, 05:39 AMflyingronRe: Seventeen, Pregnant, Runaway
She has the right to stay where she is legally warded. Yes, she can on her own behalf or someone helping her can get her counsel to help. However, unless you have a place for her to live with adult supervision, they're not going to remove her from state custody. There's no way they're just going to turn her out on her own. Being pregnant gives her no rights about where she lives (it does allow her certain medical decisions about the child).
-
08-15-2016, 05:41 AMcbgRe: Seventeen, Pregnant, Runaway
She has the right to return to the group home where she belongs. As long as she is under 18, she lives where her legal guardian says she lives, and right now her legal guardian is the state. The only right being pregnant gives her is the right to make her own medical decisions, and that of her baby. It does NOT give her any rights other than that, that a non-pregnant teen does not have. If she, or you, is thinking that being pregnant gives her the right to live wherever she wants, she, and you, are mistaken.
If you want to hire a lawyer and attempt to gain custody of her from the state, feel free. There's no guarantee that you'll succeed, but there's no guarantee that you'll fail, either. But until then, the state is the one that says where she lives.l -
08-15-2016, 09:55 PMMercy&GraceRe: Seventeen, Pregnant, Runaway
If she does not go back to the state, she may not be able to continue to receive her SSI and Medicaid. She has to be 18 before she can receive the money herself. She will also have to be reevaluated as an adult to see if she continue to meet SSA disability criteria.
-
08-16-2016, 05:01 AMBooRennieRe: Seventeen, Pregnant, RunawayI'm willing to bet the "SSI" mentioned is actually minor dependent death benefits.Quote:
Quoting Mercy&Grace
-
08-16-2016, 08:18 AMOhiogalRe: Seventeen, Pregnant, Runaway
OP, whose sibling are yours? Mother's or father's?
-
08-16-2016, 02:38 PMMercy&GraceRe: Seventeen, Pregnant, Runaway
BooRennie, there are many children in the system that receive SSI and/or Dependents Benefits, so it could be either. I was trying to point out that someone will have to be responsible for her and be her Representatve Payee due to her age. She isn't going to be able to just go to the Representative Payee and get the money each month. She also needs to be thinking about how she will support her child if she loses her monthly benefits once she turns 18.
-
08-16-2016, 03:58 PMBooRennieRe: Seventeen, Pregnant, RunawayM&G, don't think I do not know/realize that minors can be eligible for SSI. However, the minor being discussed in this thread has a deceased parent, therefore, it makes SENSE that the minor dependent is getting the death benefits. Not my problem that the OP does not know the difference between government programs.Quote:
Quoting Mercy&Grace
-
08-16-2016, 04:12 PMMercy&GraceRe: Seventeen, Pregnant, RunawayBooRennie, I apologize if my reply sounded like I was saying you didn't know, that was not my intent.Quote:
Quoting BooRennie