Unfit Foster Parents- Can I get away?

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Mash1210

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I am 16 years old, and turn 17 in July. My foster parents are unfit and neglect me horribly. CPS has been called multiple times, and a baby was removed from our home because my foster mom broke the babies arm. But, nothing has ever been done for me. The house is a mess and strange people sometimes stay for extended periods at my house. I am supposed to recieve social security checks because my father died every month, but I do not see a dime of it. I honestly don't know who has "custody" of me, and my foster mom tells me nothing. Now I know that I can get grants for college, I need to get out of this horrible environment.

I want to know if I can legally leave and move out when I turn 17. I have a stable home waiting for me. I just really need to know if I can legally leave and how to get my checks sent to me and not them.
Also, is there anyway I can legally leave before I am 17?

I just need to get out of here
 
You cannot legally move out but have you requested another placement? What state are you in? Does your state have any sort of foster care review board?
 
I found this information from another site

Texas Law under the Juvenile Justice Code, Family Code title III states that a child "is a person 10 years of age or older and under 17, or a person between 17 and 18 who engaged in or is alleged to have engaged in certain conduct before becoming 17" and that a missing child is defined as "a child whose whereabouts are unknown to the child's legal custodian." If my parents knew of where I plan on moving to but I dont have their permission but since they know where I am going, they can't file me as a missing child meaning the police cannot come and get me? In an opinion given to Senator Shapiro by Attorney General Greg Abbott in November 25 2003, the letter concluded with a summary stating "A child, including an un-emancipated seventeen-year-old, who voluntarily leaves the care and control of his or her legal custodian without the custodian's consent and without intent to return is not a "missing child" under Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 63 if the custodian knows where the child is located. If the custodian determines the child's location after filing a missing child report and notifies the investigating law enforcement agency, the agency has no duty to continue the investigation or take the possession of the child and return him or her to the custodian."



I also found this information from another site: Does it seem legit?

4. Talked to a police officer... IN TEXAS it is OKAY to move out at 17. As long as you STAY IN SCHOOL... and are able to support yourself. you must have a place to stay and the majority.. STAY THERE... you just can't move around from place to place.....



The legal age in Texas is 17. I am 17 and moved out of a good home just wanted to be on my own, parent was against it completely. The police asked me to call and tell my mother where i was and that i was okay. The police cannot take you unless there is proof that you are unsafe, or unable to care for yourself
 
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The problem here is that you are a ward of the state if you are in foster care. TX IS a loophole state for 17 year old runaways, but you may fall under a different set of laws as a ward of the state. The state might then have the right to come and get you.

Contact your social worker if the placement is not working out.

I'm curious ... just who is this "stable home" with? A boyfriend/girlfriend?

- Carl
 
no, it is a bestfriend. She has the most stable family I know, and her parents have agreed to take me in. They are great Christians and are the most caring people I know.
 
I do not know if I am in the System for Foster Care, all I know is that my "parents" have not adopted me and are not my biological parents. I do not have a social worker so I guess I am not in the system. My "parents" don't tell me anything and I am terrified to ask.
 
If they are not "foster parents" (a family provided for by the state and who likely receive a stipend for keeping you), then how did you come to live with them?

If this was not a state placement, and if they really lost a child to CPS it likely is NOT a state placement (such a thing should have likely revoked that foster status), then you are free to do what your parents want you to do ... assuming they have not lost parental control. if they don't care that you live with someone else, and you do not draw attention to yourself by dropping out of school, you may be able to make the move.

Perhaps you should speak to a school counselor or call your county's department of social services.

- Carl
 
My father died and my mother is in prison I think. I was always just told I was given to my "parents" because they didnt want me. I don't remember them at all and reallly don't know how I got to live with these people.
 
That makes things a tad sticky.

You might want to make a call to social services.

- Carl
 
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