Parent At Wit's End in Colorado

[Alkimiyia]

I am a single parent of a 17 year old daughter, who, since the age of 15, has been uncontrollable. A few examples include the following, and this is the short version of some of the things she is doing...repeated truancy throughout high school, which resulted in her finally being told, by the principal, that it is not worth the school's effort to keep her enrolled..she has run away several times, and each time has been gone for several months, before wearing out her welcome at her friends' homes, which always result in her coming home for short periods of time before leaving again. She will not obey the curfew laws, nor will she follow simple house rules...She has been picked up for underage drinking at parties, sneaks into my home with her friends, usually while I am at work, and in front of her younger sisters, ages 13 and 15, she and her friends smoke weed and I can only guess at what else they do...I can not count the times I have taken her dope and thrown it out. Fear has kept me from calling the police when I find her drugs, and up to this point, I have merley disposed of them and had to listen to her berating me for doing so. I have tried changing out my locks to the house several times to keep her and her friends out when I am not home, but she always finds a way in, whether she breaks in or threatens bodily injury to her sisters if they do not let her into the house. Her sisters also live in terror of her coming home and I live in fear of her sisters repeating her behavior, and the 13 yo is already beginning to display some of her behavior now. My neighbor is aware of the problems as is her grandmother. Her grandmother has tried to intervene as well, but to no avail and it ultimately resulted in her grandmother kicking her out of her home...At this point in time, she is not enrolled in school, against my wishes. She has rarely been in residence for the past year, against my wishes, except on the occasions when she needs a place to 'crash'. She is constantly jeopardizing her sisters and myself with her drug use in the home and I live in a constant state of fear that one of my neighbors will eventually call the police, which may result in me going to jail, or worse, losing my other daughters because of the drug use. I have to listen to her tell me that there is nothing I can do because of her age and that I can not legally kick her out of the home, as well as listen to police tell me the same thing and that the only thing I can do is report her as a runaway, which does not do any good in trying to keep her home. She is employed full time as a night supervisor, pays no rent or bills within my home, buys no groceries within my home, and at this point in time, I do not know what she does with her paychecks. My daughter is of the opinion that she is grown now and can do whatever she likes, regardless of the consequences. Considering the circumstances, and the vagueness of the Colorado Emancipation laws, would emancipation be an option and if so, can a parent file?

[Mr. Knowitall]

In many states, a dependent minor's wages are the property of the parent, such that the parent can contact the minor's employment and ask that the wages be paid to the parent. I am not sure if Colorado follows that rule.

Are you trying to keep her home or not? You say so, but you also state that you've repeatedly changed the locks to keep her out?

She does not sound like a good candidate for emancipation. Even if we assume that she can support herself, she's atrociously immature and irresponsible. Colorado's laws, though, don't give much guidance on the subject so you may want to consult a family lawyer.