Can my 17-year old have her own apartment?

[PQN]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois

My daughter has been in an RTC (Residential Treatment Center) for the last 3 years. She is being treated for Schitzophrenia. She is not 18. Due to funding issues (lost insurance), she needs to leave the RTC but her therapist does not feel it is in her best interest to change schools for her senior year. We cannot afford the $150,000 for her to stay in the RTC but we can afford a small apartment in the district (about $5,000 for the year). She was being bused to the public school's LD center in the town the RTC is located. This school has done more for her academically than any other school she has attended. We cannot move due to job commitments and there are no jobs available in her town.

1) Is it legal for us to have our daughter live alone when under 18?
*we will cover all her rent, food, etc.
*we will hire someone to be with her everyday after school/work to provide company, homework help, make dinner (a cross between a nanny and a mentor)
*we will be driving there (3 hour drive) every Friday after work and staying until late on Sunday

2)Will she be considered a resident of that district since she will be living there full-time?

She is just 17. If we cannot legally find a way to keep her at her school, we will bring her home until she turns 18 and then move her back into her current district so that she can continue her education. (Yes, we will enroll her in school here but our district doesn't have the program available where she is, but they have a program so we can't get them to pay for her to stay there either.

While she has significant academic-learning disabilities, she has very solid living skills and will be fine in her own apartment (per her staff at the RTC).

My daughter has made so much progress in the last 3 years. I'm just trying to do what is best for her.

 

[xylene]

Yes, it is but...

Why did she lose her insurance coverage?

That is possibly more interesting.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois

My daughter has been in an RTC (Residential Treatment Center) for the last 3 years. She is being treated for Schitzophrenia. She is not 18. Due to funding issues (lost insurance), she needs to leave the RTC but her therapist does not feel it is in her best interest to change schools for her senior year. We cannot afford the $150,000 for her to stay in the RTC but we can afford a small apartment in the district (about $5,000 for the year). She was being bused to the public school's LD center in the town the RTC is located. This school has done more for her academically than any other school she has attended. We cannot move due to job commitments and there are no jobs available in her town.

1) Is it legal for us to have our daughter live alone when under 18?
*we will cover all her rent, food, etc.
*we will hire someone to be with her everyday after school/work to provide company, homework help, make dinner (a cross between a nanny and a mentor)
*we will be driving there (3 hour drive) every Friday after work and staying until late on Sunday

2)Will she be considered a resident of that district since she will be living there full-time?

She is just 17. If we cannot legally find a way to keep her at her school, we will bring her home until she turns 18 and then move her back into her current district so that she can continue her education. (Yes, we will enroll her in school here but our district doesn't have the program available where she is, but they have a program so we can't get them to pay for her to stay there either.

While she has significant academic-learning disabilities, she has very solid living skills and will be fine in her own apartment (per her staff at the RTC).

My daughter has made so much progress in the last 3 years. I'm just trying to do what is best for her.

If the apartment is going to be in your name, there shouldn't be any problem keeping her at the school. If you are going to be there every weekend and will be hiring a nanny/mentor for her during the week, that shouldn't be a problem either.

 

[Zigner]

So, this girl is unstable enough that she *should* be in an RTC (you just can't afford it), yet you somehow think she would be cable of living "alone"? Absolutely incredible.

Now is the time that one of the parents might need to make a sacrifice and actually move WITH their child.

 

[LdiJ]

So, this girl is unstable enough that she *should* be in an RTC (you just can't afford it), yet you somehow think she would be cable of living "alone"? Absolutely incredible.

Now is the time that one of the parents might need to make a sacrifice and actually move WITH their child.

Well, the staff at the RTC did say this:

While she has significant academic-learning disabilities, she has very solid living skills and will be fine in her own apartment (per her staff at the RTC).

And OP did say this:

*we will hire someone to be with her everyday after school/work to provide company, homework help, make dinner (a cross between a nanny and a mentor)
*we will be driving there (3 hour drive) every Friday after work and staying until late on Sunday

So its not quite the same as living alone...and the RTC endorses it.

 

[xylene]

So, this girl is unstable enough that she *should* be in an RTC (you just can't afford it), yet you somehow think she would be cable of living "alone"? Absolutely incredible.

Now is the time that one of the parents might need to make a sacrifice and actually move WITH their child.

It is very possible that returning to living with parents after 3 years apart could be severely traumatizing - even without a severe mental health diagnosis.

It is also very possible, even probable, that the event surrounding the onset of illness resulted in serious family trauma...

 

[Zigner]

It is very possible that returning to living with parents after 3 years apart could be severely traumatizing - even without a severe mental health diagnosis.

It is also very possible, even probable, that the event surrounding the onset of illness resulted in serious family trauma...

Both excellent points...

 

[Banned_Princess]

It is also very possible, even probable, that the event surrounding the onset of illness resulted in serious family trauma...

Really? I thought it was a born illness, not a trauma induced one.

 

[Zigner]

Really? I thought it was a born illness, not a trauma induced one.

You misunderstood -

The FAMILY is traumatized by the onset of the symptoms of the illness.

 

[ecmst12]

Schizophrenia is frequently inherited, but there is usually still some event which triggers the onset of symptoms. That event may or may not be "traumatic" to someone who does NOT have the predisposition to mental illness, but my understanding is the disorder doesn't usually manifest out of nowhere.

IMO it sounds like this will be an excellent "trial run" of life after high school, helping her to learn to live outside of the RTC, and the amount of supervision you will be providing sounds pretty comprehensive.

 

[PQN]

Thank you

Thank you very much. We will continue to work with the RTC to set this up.