What Happens if a Child Runs Away to Another State

I am a 15 year old girl and i cant stand living at home i get yelled at all the time for no reason sometimes or sometimes its for a stupid reasons. I asked my parents if i could move out and they said no and started screaming at me and kept saying things. I'm sick of home and at school i get bullied and all the people who i thought were my friends are all back stabbers. All i have is my boyfriend and he is 16 but i wanna get away from it all and things at home aren't the greatest for him either we both wanna get away from it all there are other reasons i wanna leave too and my boyfriend wants to get me and him out of here soon. There is way too much going on at home, there is way too much stress im having trouble concentrating and i haven't been eating i have lost alot of weight and my boyfriend is worried and the thoughts i have been having worry him even more. Its too much i just want to get away and be happy with him when im with him i can eat like alot i can smile and laugh and concentrate he takes care of me. I have also lost alot of sleep i can stay up for days straight and when i go to bed eventually i only get a couple hours of sleep and me and my boyfriend have been wanting to go for awhile but when im with him i feel safe and wanted and loved and needed and he lays down with me and i fall asleep within seconds or minutes and i want it to be like that all the time. but what would happen if we ran away out of state we currently live in new york state?

Both you and he could end up in huge trouble.

It really is that simple.

How much trouble? What would happen?

I cant concentrate in school at all my grades have dropped and my boyfriends tried to help but the way things are at home it doesnt work

If you run away to another state, you could easily find yourself in juvenile detention while the state figures out how to get you back home.

Detention in juvenile hall or a group home could be possible, perhaps criminal charges for anyone who helps you remain out of control of your parents, etc.

Running away is NOT the solution. See if you can get an appointment with a counselor or therapist. Talk to someone. But, running away with your boyfriend will only create more problems. And you do NOT want to know what tends to happen to kids who do that ... you do not.

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Quoting Kenzi1418

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I am a 15 year old girl and i cant stand living at home i get yelled at all the time for no reason sometimes or sometimes its for a stupid reasons. I asked my parents if i could move out and they said no and started screaming at me and kept saying things. I'm sick of home and at school i get bullied and all the people who i thought were my friends are all back stabbers. All i have is my boyfriend and he is 16 but i wanna get away from it all and things at home aren't the greatest for him either we both wanna get away from it all there are other reasons i wanna leave too and my boyfriend wants to get me and him out of here soon. There is way too much going on at home, there is way too much stress im having trouble concentrating and i haven't been eating i have lost alot of weight and my boyfriend is worried and the thoughts i have been having worry him even more. Its too much i just want to get away and be happy with him when im with him i can eat like alot i can smile and laugh and concentrate he takes care of me. I have also lost alot of sleep i can stay up for days straight and when i go to bed eventually i only get a couple hours of sleep and me and my boyfriend have been wanting to go for awhile but when im with him i feel safe and wanted and loved and needed and he lays down with me and i fall asleep within seconds or minutes and i want it to be like that all the time. but what would happen if we ran away out of state we currently live in new york state?

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Lots of kids get yelled at by their parents - usually because the kid does something stupid that frustrates the hell out of a parent. You may find out someday if you're ever a parent. My dad yelled at us sometimes when we were kids - we got over it.

Sounds like you're a typical teenager. If you're being bullied report it to the school. Tell your parents.

Get away from what? You think running away is going to solve any of your problems? Do you know what it takes to live on your own? I don't think so. Everyone has stress - learn how to handle it. You think your parents don't have stress? What do you think will happen to them if you run away? You'll cause them stress.

Start eating - no one is stopping you from eating. If you have an eating disorder go talk to a counselor. Oh he takes care of you? Your 16 year old boyfriend? How's that?

If you run away with your boyfriend then I would assume your parents or his will call the police and then the police will look for you.

I did find this about New York but don't know how accurate it is:

New York Age of a minor: Any person under 18 years of age.

Runaway status: A person under 18 years of age who is absent from the minor’s legal residence without the consent of the minor’s guardian. A runaway could also be classified as a destitute child. A destitute child is, among other things, any child who, through no neglect on the part of the child’s guardian, is absent from the child’s legal residence without the consent of the child’s guardian.

The New York statutes do not directly address taking a runaway into custody or formal court proceeding related to runaway youth. Social services may classify a runaway youth as a destitute child and provide the youth with services if proper care is not available at home.

Is running away a status offense: No.

Can a youth file for emancipation: There is no general statute that addresses the process of emancipation. Other statutes reference contractual emancipation. An emancipated minor in the context of public health means “a minor patient who is the parent of a child, or who is [16] years of age or older and living independently from his or her parents or guardian.”


BUT I also found this: "According to the report, nine jurisdictions classify runaway youth as status offenders: Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. This means that if you are stopped by authorities in these states as you are running away, you are committing a crime."

How about this? Go talk to the school counselor and get some help. Talk to your parents and find out how to work out the issues between them. I guarantee they yell at you because you don't listen or some other normal teenage thing.

Your boyfriend is not going to be able to take care of you if you runaway. How will you get money? Where will you stay? Also know that anyone who harbors either of you could get in serious trouble.

"he lays down with me and i fall asleep within seconds or minutes and i want it to be like that all the time." Sorry that's not how life works. Sometimes life is hard and it sucks. If you can't learn to deal with it, you have a hard road ahead of you.

A runaway in New York can most certainly be placed in detention, and contrary to the post above there is a statute that explicitly grants that power to the police:

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Quoting New York Family Court Act, Sec. 718. Return of run away.

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(a) A peace officer, acting pursuant to such peace officer's special duties, or a police officer may return to a parent or other person legally responsible for such child's care any child under the age of eighteen who has run away from home without just cause or who, in the reasonable conclusion of the officer, appears to have run away from home without just cause. For purposes of this action, a police officer or peace officer may reasonably conclude that a child has run away from home when the child refuses to give his or her name or the name and address of a parent or other person legally responsible for such child's care or when the officer has reason to doubt that the name or address given are the actual name and address of the parent or other person legally responsible for the child's care.

(b) A peace officer, acting pursuant to the peace officer's special duties, or a police officer is authorized to take a youth who has run away from home or who, in the reasonable opinion of the officer, appears to have run away from home, to a facility certified or approved for such purpose by the office of children and family services, if the peace officer or police officer is unable, or if it is unsafe, to return the youth to his or her home or to the custody of his or her parent or other person legally responsible for his or her care. Any such facility receiving a youth shall inform a parent or other person responsible for such youth's care.

(c) If a child placed pursuant to this article in the custody of a commissioner of social services or an authorized agency shall run away from the custody of such commissioner or authorized agency, any peace officer, acting pursuant to his special duties, or police officer may apprehend, restrain, and return such child to such location as such commissioner shall direct or to such authorized agency and it shall be the duty of any such officer to assist any representative of the commissioner or agency to take into custody any such child upon the request of such representative.

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I'm just going to expand a wee bit on emancipation since it was mentioned earlier and there's a decent chance OP is going to ask about it anyway.

OP will not, and does not, qualify for emancipation in any state ... the fact that NY doesn't actually have an emancipation statute is merely the final nail in that already-closed coffin.

(NY state will recognize a minor as being emancipated in very rare, very specific circumstances but none of those circumstances exist in this instance)

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Quoting Kenzi1418

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I am a 15 year old girl and i cant stand living at home i get yelled at all the time for no reason sometimes or sometimes its for a stupid reasons. I asked my parents if i could move out and they said no and started screaming at me and kept saying things. I'm sick of home and at school i get bullied and all the people who i thought were my friends are all back stabbers. All i have is my boyfriend and he is 16 but i wanna get away from it all and things at home aren't the greatest for him either we both wanna get away from it all there are other reasons i wanna leave too and my boyfriend wants to get me and him out of here soon. There is way too much going on at home, there is way too much stress im having trouble concentrating and i haven't been eating i have lost alot of weight and my boyfriend is worried and the thoughts i have been having worry him even more. Its too much i just want to get away and be happy with him when im with him i can eat like alot i can smile and laugh and concentrate he takes care of me. I have also lost alot of sleep i can stay up for days straight and when i go to bed eventually i only get a couple hours of sleep and me and my boyfriend have been wanting to go for awhile but when im with him i feel safe and wanted and loved and needed and he lays down with me and i fall asleep within seconds or minutes and i want it to be like that all the time. but what would happen if we ran away out of state we currently live in new york state?

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Running away would be the worst thing you could do. If you get caught, you have a huge heap of problems. If you don't, you are homeless and broke.

The reason you are homeless and broke is because you won't be legally able to get a job. Your parents will file a missing person alert, and you will not be able to get away from that. So to not get caught means living on the streets for the next three years.

And having worked at a Denny's where runaways would congregate, and having a husband that was in law enforcement, I need to tell you that being a runaway sucks FAR WORSE than parents yelling at you. It means not being able to bathe regularly, not being able to find food easily, it can also result in rape, drug abuse, and criminal activity.

I would gently suggest instead that you ask yourself what you are doing that is causing the problem. Look inward. You say you have no friends, and angry parents. That tells me you have social skills you can probably improve. Find a counselor and work through that. This is the way functional adults work on their problems.

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Quoting oldsmom

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And having worked at a Denny's where runaways would congregate, and having a husband that was in law enforcement, I need to tell you that being a runaway sucks FAR WORSE than parents yelling at you. It means not being able to bathe regularly, not being able to find food easily, it can also result in rape, drug abuse, and criminal activity.

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All of this! ^^^^

I have seen and worked with kids in crappy situations, and have been a foster parent for just this reason. Kenzi, I could tell you stories that would make your toes curl of kids who left home to meet up with so-called "friends" and the subsequent horror that they lived through. I still work with some of these children through other programs to help others who are debating doing what you are considering. I implore you to seek help, not flight! Teen emotions make you blind to the realities of life on the street and on the run. There ARE alternatives! You simply have to ask a counselor, call county social services, someone. Help is out there.

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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A runaway in New York can most certainly be placed in detention, and contrary to the post above there is a statute that explicitly grants that power to the police:

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Did you see where I said I didn't know how accurate what I posted about NY actually is? Yeah I did caveat it.

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Quoting qwaspolk69

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Did you see where I said I didn't know how accurate what I posted about NY actually is? Yeah I did caveat it.

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Yes, I did see where you posted that you found something on the web, and were posting it without knowing if it was accurate. But if you don't know the law, and can't take the time to verify what you're posting, perhaps you should leave the posting to others, or at least refrain from complaining when others post correct information.

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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Yes, I did see where you posted that you found something on the web, and were posting it without knowing if it was accurate. But if you don't know the law, and can't take the time to verify what you're posting, perhaps you should leave the posting to others, or at least refrain from complaining when others post correct information.

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Where did I complain about what you posted or anyone else? I didn't. I searched New York laws and runaways and the statute you posted never came up in the search I ran. In no way, shape or form did I complain. I just said I thought it might not be accurate. But that's what I found. Perhaps consider that this isn't legal advice anywhere on this forum per the disclaimer either.