What Does it Mean to Be a Runaway

[puppehchick]

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Georgia

I've read and researched the juvenile law and georgia statutes to death and still have a few details which appear to evade me (or im just not understanding it fully, which is also possible.)
Can a 17 year old, in georgia, move out without parental consent without being prosecuted with a status crime?

i know a 17 y/o can be prosecuted as an adult. i also see in some places it says you have to be 18. however there are many stories in which people say the cops didnt return the children because they werent in any danger and could support themselves.
as the law also stated you must be able to fully support yourself AND stay in school

so, would someone please clarify this law? can a 17 y/o "run away" without being brought back to their parent's home?

[cbg]

The legal age to move out is 18. There is NO state where a 17 year old has a legal right to move out without permission.

In SOME municipalities of SOME states, law enforcement officers are reluctant to return a 17 year old who is in a safe place, back home. That does NOT mean that it is legal to move out at 17; it means that since there are too few police to deal with too many issues, they have chosen not to expend any resources on this particular one.

Nor are the police the only ones who are able to take any action. There is nothing whatsoever preventing the parents themselves from dragging your little ass back where it belongs.

[puppehchick]

So it mostly depends on where you are? as in, it depends if your particular section has too few police you are unlikely to be brought back?

[aardvarc]

The bottom line is that law enforcement has the ABILITY to forcibly return a minor to the care and custody of their parent(s). Whether any given officer, on any given day, in any given jurisdiction will or won't do so can depend on anything from the time of day, to the weather, to what that particular officer had for lunch. Some departments are much more willing to intervene than others, but that doesn't mean that they ALWAYS will, nor does it mean that departments who tend to do "well being" checks only won't return a minor to their parents. The answer really is "it depends", and it can't be qualified further than that.

[cbg]

The bottom line is that if you want a guaranteed way to move out without being returned back home, wait until you are 18.

[puppehchick]

Okay, thank you very much.