What do you do when your 17 year old runs away?
Emma Martin
Published Feb 23, 2026
What do you do when your 17 year old runs away?
The 17 year old runaways have the following legal options:
- Contact the local police or shelter to help them return home.
- The court may grant guardianship but the parents will still have to provide for the child.
- The child may ask for emancipation in an emancipation proceeding where they get to become adults.
Is it OK to run away from home at 17?
At 17, if you ran away, your parents could contact law enforcement and police would return you to your home, if they found you. If a person takes you in at 17, he/she could be charged with harboring a runaway. PLEASE DO NOT RUNAWAY. This would put you in much danger.
What do you do when your 17 year old refuses to come home?
Speak to your daughter’s friend’s parents and tell them that you want your daughter to come home. If they continue to let her stay with them, call the police. You can also call DCF.
What do you do when your teenage son runs away?
Here’s what to do if your child has run away from home.
- Call the Police Immediately. As soon as you learn that your child has run away, report them as missing to your local police.
- Ask Police to Enter Your Child Into the NCIC.
- Call Child Find of America.
- Spread The Word.
- When They Return Home, Address the Problem.
Can I kick my son out at 17?
Once a minor is legally emancipated, parents no longer have to feed, house, or pay child support for the emancipated minor. Kicking an underage child (meaning under 18 in most states) out of the house, without the child being emancipated, can often be considered child abandonment, which is a crime.
Can your parents control you at 17?
A parent has both the legal right and the duty to control their 16- or 17-year old children, unless they are emancipated. The parents or guardians are liable only if the minors would have been liable for the damage or injury had they been adults.
Can a kid get in trouble for running away?
Running away is not a crime. You cannot get arrested or charged with a crime for running away from your family. However – and this is a big however – some states consider running away a status offense. A status offense is something considered illegal because of a teen’s underage status.
How do you let go of a child who hates you?
The best advice I can offer is as follows:
- Ask your child what he or she needs from you in order to repair the relationship.
- Dont act on your feelings of defensiveness.
- Expect Respect.
- Dont idealize your children or your relationship with them.
- Grieve.
- Live one day at a time.
- Dont beg.
- Be empowered.
When should you kick your teenager out of the house?
It is important to note that teens cannot petition for emancipation until they are fourteen in California and sixteen in most other states. Parents of an emancipated minor face no legal consequences if their teen is kicked out of their home.
Can parents disown their child?
Once your children come of age, you are free to disown them. A parent can financially and emotionally cut off his own children with legal impunity. People are just as free to disown more distant relatives, friends, and romantic partners. Disownment is a powerful threat to hang over others’ heads.
Do police look for 17 year old runaways?
YOUTH IN CRISIS LAW The law authorizes police officers to look for runaway 16- and 17-year olds. Police officers who find them may report their location to their parents, refer them to Juvenile Court, take them to an agency that serves children, or keep them in custody for up to 12 hours.
Is running away a misdemeanor?
Running away from home is considered a crime in some jurisdictions, but it is usually a status offense punished with probation, or not punished at all. Giving aid or assistance to a runaway instead of turning them in to the police is a more serious crime called “harboring a runaway”, and is typically a misdemeanor.