Am I Eligible to Become Emancipated

[cbg]

That last sentence just KILLED any hope you had of emancipation. If you have ANY kind of emotional or mental health diagnosis, that's it - no emancipation. Period.

EVEN IF DSS decides to terminate parental rights, you will NOT be emancipated. (That was always the case - the diagnosis of depression just puts the icing on the cake.) Foster care, maybe. Group home, possibly. Placement with other relatives, sure. Emancipation? Not on your nelly.

[cdwjava]

Agreed. Your own actions would appear to make you a poor candidate for emancipation.

Wait until you are 8 and then give it a go.

In the meantime, continue counseling and therapy.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If you have ANY kind of emotional or mental health diagnosis, that's it - no emancipation. Period.

I think that's an overstatement. Although mental health issues can interfere with a minor's ability to support herself or manage her own affairs, minor issues (such as a situational depression that does not rise to the level of interfering with function) do not per se prevent emancipation for an otherwise qualified minor.

[cbg]

Ah, but those other qualifications don't appear to be there either. But I'm not 100% convinced that I'm wrong, either. I am not a stranger to situational depression and how debilitating it can be. Given that emotional instablitity is part of the definition of teenager, I doubt that a teenager with additional issues over and above the usual is going to meet the maturity level that is required for emancipation.