Q. III.1 When can a youth leave home legally and not
be required to return?
Q. III.2 At
what age can a youth:
sign a
contract
consent to medical care
obtain identification and documents
without parental consent/involvement?
Q. III.3 What
obligations do young people (under 21) have toward
their parents?
Q. III.4 Can a
young person force his/her parents to support
him/her? If so, until what age?
Q. III.5 Can a
youth under the age of 18 obtain a learner's permit
or driver's license without parental consent?
Q. III.6 What
happens when a young person leaves New York State? Do
New York State laws still apply?
Q. III.7 Can a
young person under the age of 16 stay at a shelter?
Q. III.8 What
are a youth's rights to their personal possessions
while they are at a shelter? Can parents refuse to
give the child his/her belongings?
Q. III.9 What
are the legal rights of minors to decide whether they
want to return home? Are those rights different if
there is an allegation of abuse?
Q. III.10 Can
a youth, over the age of 16, access any services,
treatments, placements or therapy without payment?
Q. III.1 When
can a youth leave home legally and not be required to
return?
A. As a
general rule, a young person under the age of 18
cannot leave home. The police can take a youth
under 18 who leaves home without parental
permission into custody and return the child
home. However, a youth under 18 may go to a
certified runaway shelter for up to 30 days,
without parental consent, and may not be forced
to return home. For those 30 days, the shelter is
the youth's home.
Young
people under 18 and in the
jurisdiction of the Family Court or in the
custody of the Office of Youth and Family
Services will be returned to the facility
where they were placed.
Q. III.2 At
what age can a youth:
sign a
contract
consent to medical care
obtain identification and documents
without parental consent/involvement?
A. In New
York State, a young person is considered an adult
for most purposes at 18. At that point they are
fully responsible for the contracts they sign.
Although young people under 18 may sign
contracts, most contracts cannot be enforced
against them. Not surprisingly, landlords are
quite hesitant to enter into leases with minors
for that reason.
For a
discussion of a minor's right to consent to
medical treatment see Section V.
Any young
person can obtain a Certificate of Birth, which
is different from a Birth Certificate. A
Certificate of Birth includes the young person's
full name, and the date and place of birth. The
document may be obtained, free of charge, from
the Department of Vital Statistics in the county
where the youth was born, except in New York
City, where the records for all five counties are
in the Manhattan office.
A Birth
Certificate contains more extensive information
and a youth must be over 18 or have parental
consent to obtain it.
Q. III.3 What
obligations do young people (under 21) have toward
their parents?
A. Youth
under the age of 21 are obligated to obey the
reasonable rules set by their parents/guardians
as a condition of their continued support.
Q. III.4 Can a
young person force his/her parents to support
him/her? If so, until what age?
A. In New
York State, young people are entitled to parental
support until they are 21. If a young person
leaves home because the conditions are
unbearable, the youth may succeed in a proceeding
for support in Family Court. If, however, the
young person leaves home to be on his/her own,
the parents' obligation to support the young
person is terminated.
Q. III.5 Can a
young person under the age of 18 obtain a learner's
permit or driver's license without parental consent?
A. In New
York State, parental consent is required to
obtain a learner's permit for persons under 18.
At 17, if a young person has successfully
completed a driver's education course and has
received a "Blue Card," parental
permission is not required to get a permit. At
age 18, parental consent is not needed to obtain
a permit, with or without a driver's education
course.
Q. III.6 What
happens when a young person leaves New York State? Do
NewYork State laws still apply?
A. In New
York, a young person may be forced to return home
if he/she is under 18. The same rules apply to a
young person who leaves the state.
Q. III.7 Can a
young person under the age of 16 stay at a shelter?
A.
According to the New York State Runaway and
Homeless Youth Act, any runaway, regardless of
age, may stay at a certified residential runaway
program for up to 30 days without parental
consent. In certain circumstances, the young
person can stay an additional 30 days with
approval by the county runaway coordinator and
parental consent unless a matter is referred to
the Family Court.
Q. III.8 What
are a youth's rights to their personal possessions
while they are at a shelter? Can parents refuse to
give the child his/her belongings?
A. Since
parents have the obligation to support their
children and a child may legally choose to stay
at a runaway shelter for up to 30 days, a young
person should not be denied his/her possessions
while staying at a licensed shelter. Although a
parent may be sued for refusing to provide basic
support, that course of action is not
recommended. In extreme cases where parents
refuse to give the child access to his/her
belongings and the child plans to return to
his/her home to get them, it may be wise to ask
for a police escort to avoid the possibility of a
confrontation. A parent's refusal to provide for
the basic needs of a child may constitute child
neglect as well, which indicates the need for CPS
involvement.
Q. III.9 What
are the legal rights of minors to decide whether they
want to return home? Are those rights different if
there is an allegation of abuse?
A. A
parent cannot force a child staying at a licensed
runaway/homeless youth shelter to return home.
The child, however, may return home when he/she
feels ready. A parent may not legally refuse to
allow a young person under 21 to return home
without a court order.
If there
is an allegation of abuse and an Article 10
petition has been filed, the young person may be
allowed to remain at a certified residential
program for more than 30 days. Even if an
allegation of abuse is unfounded, a young person
cannot be forced to return home and has the right
to remain at the licensed runaway/homeless youth
program for up to 30 days. In extreme cases of
abuse, a child may be removed from his/her home
by the Department of Social Services. Such
actions are reviewable by the Family Court, to
determine whether removal is warranted.
Q. III.10 Can
a youth, over the age of 16, access any services,
treatments, placements or therapy without payment?
A. A young
person over 16 may access services, treatments,
placements, or therapy to the same extent as
others. For example, hospitals are generally
required to provide free emergency medical
services to anyone and may not refuse treatment
simply because someone has no health insurance.
