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Originally Posted by AK lawyer

A runaway teen, assuming that is what you call her, is not a criminal.

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What would the term be? (I honestly don't know.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AK lawyer

A runaway teen, assuming that is what you call her, is not a criminal.

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A lot is going to depend on local jurisdiction. In many states it's a crime to run away from home. It does vary somewhat by state.

Run Away Teenagers: Laws and Penalties | CriminalDefenseLawyer.com

Each section of the CT code is not dependent on the others, as you can see by the word 'or.' #4 is what I was referring to. CT doesn't have the laws other states have for dealing with runaways as of 16 years old, for example.

Maybe this should be moved to a discussion board because it's not helping the OP. I still don't see that anyone has applied for emancipation - and until someone does AND THERE'S A HEARING the girl is a runaway, being harbored by the OP.

Is the OP in Connecticut?

EDIT: Reread the law as posted by "JoyP" and, yes, she is correct. Hard to believe but that's the law. I do see that someone would have to ask for an emancipation hearing but hard to believe that CT would "simply" emancipate a person who doesn't have any apparent means of long-term support. NY most definitely does not take this position due to the number of people on public assistance. NY (apparently) doesn't want more people to apply.

That doesn't change the fact that "JoyP" did some good research and I learned something (which she was forced to explain to me!).

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Originally Posted by joypulv

Each section of the CT code is not dependent on the others, as you can see by the word 'or.' #4 is what I was referring to. CT doesn't have the laws other states have for dealing with runaways as of 16 years old, for example.

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Basically #4 states that the court has full discretion in such matters based on what it sees as the best interests of the minor. But that doesn't mean that the court will or should (or ever has) exercised that discretion. In my opinion, such blanket clauses are NOT totally independent, but rather are meant to be tempered by the guidelines of the other clauses. That judges have traditionally looked on them that way.

That being said, emancipation was never brought up by the OP nor does it seem to be a viable alternative for the child in question. Therefore, no further discussion on this point will be entertained in this thread. If anyone wants to open up discussion of this point of law, do so in another thread. Any further discussion will be removed. Let us wait until the OP has any further questions or followups to add to this thread.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

What would the term be? (I honestly don't know.)

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In my neck of the woods, runaway kids are called 'delinquents'.