legal age to decide?

What is the name of your state? FL

My girlfriend just turned 17 and has serious family problems. She lives with her mother in FL and her father lives in chicago. Neither of her parents are fit to be raising her, her father physically abuses her and her mother mentally abuses her. She has things on them that she could turn them in for and possibly get herself taken away from both but her question is, where does she go? Does she get sent away to a foster home at the age of 17 or does she get to decide? I have heard that there could be exceptions to foster care if once a minor reaches a certain age, say maybe 16 or so, that he/she has the right to decide where he/she wants to live as long as the court decides it is ok? Is this true or a misunderstanding on my part? Thankyou.

A misunderstanding on your part. Most teenagers feel emotionally or mentally abused because they don't get to spend all their time doing what they want to do. Grow up, if she does something to make her leave the home, she will be in the system. It's tough. She should just wait until 18 then make her own life.

If things are as your gf says, then maybe she would be better off turning her parents in.

Otherwise, she only has a couple of options... try and get emancipation through the court which by the time it is granted by the court she would probably be 18, or go into the DCFS system. She won't have the option to decide where she goes. However, because of her age, overcrowding, and lack of foster space, if there is an immediate relative that would allow her to live with them, or a CFS approved adult, there is a high likelihood that she could reside at one of those locations rather than a foster home. Again though, that is up to CFS to decide.