Foster care vs living with a relative

[turmoil13]

I am a Florida resident. My 14 yr old niece has been "staying" with me for a month due to family issues. As of yesterday her mother advised me that she has "been doing research" and that if the child does not come home she will take action which will NOT include the child remaining with me. I have multiple questions. In the state of Florida, at the age of 14, can a child become emancipated? If the "system" gets involved, is foster care automatic? If the "system" gets involved is a willing relative given consideration over foster care? This is also a child with special needs as she has spina bifida and ambulates via a wheelchair as well as other various issues.

Your responses will be greatly appreciated!

 

[cbg]

In the state of Florida, the minimum age to be emancipated is 16, and THE PARENTS must sign the petition. If they will not do so, then emancipation will not happen. Period. No exceptions whatsoever.

There is only one state that will even consider emancipating a 14 year old and even in that state, the 14 year old had better spend his or her spare time as an extra in the Harry Potter movies or be a nationally recognized athlete if he hopes to meet the qualifications. No state would even consider emancipating a child with special needs at the age of 14, no matter what. I'm not sure you fully understand what the emancipation of a minor means.

I'll let others address the foster care question.

 

[Ohiogal]

There is no guarantee that the "system" would get involved. Give more details as to what is going on -- what are the family issues?

 

[turmoil13]

In the state of Florida, the minimum age to be emancipated is 16, and THE PARENTS must sign the petition. If they will not do so, then emancipation will not happen. Period. No exceptions whatsoever.

There is only one state that will even consider emancipating a 14 year old and even in that state, the 14 year old had better spend his or her spare time as an extra in the Harry Potter movies or be a nationally recognized athlete if he hopes to meet the qualifications. No state would even consider emancipating a child with special needs at the age of 14, no matter what. I'm not sure you fully understand what the emancipation of a minor means.

I'll let others address the foster care question.

Thank you so much for your reply. Apparently I do not fully understand emancipation. Thank you for the clarification.

 

[turmoil13]

There is no guarantee that the "system" would get involved. Give more details as to what is going on -- what are the family issues?

There has been strife in this family for sometime. Several years back allegations of abuse, DCF involvement, arrest of father, supervision. Now it appears there is constant conflict with my niece, who is currently living with me, and her younger sister. Her mother is angry because she chose, with permission, to stay with me while the family under goes counseling. It doesn't appear as if counseling is helping as the youngest child openly confesses that it is all a joke. Neither parent is involved in the counseling. Mom will be attending for the first time in the next week. I seriously doubt the father will ever agree to counseling. It's the time frame my sister has given my niece of making a decision to return home or not by July 15th or else that is of concern. She openly stated that if she chooses not to return home she has researched alternatives and "they will not be what she (my niece) wants".

 

[cbg]

Again, I will let others address the main body of your question, but I was in a hurry this morning and did not really address the matter of what emancipation of a minor is. I apologize for that - I did not mean to be as abrupt as a re-reading shows I was.

Emancipation of a minor is the granting of legal status to a minor under 18. It is not, as too many people (especially teens ) believe, a means for which a minor can leave home without permission; it is the granting of legal protections to a minor who, for reasons beyond their control, are already living on their own.

Some states will not emancipate a minor at all. In those states that will, the minimum age in all but 2 is 16 or older, and even in those two states that will consider emancipation for a 14 or 15 year old it rarely happens. It requires that the minor be self-sufficient; that means earning enough to pay for their own rent (market rate, not a token to a friend or relative for the use of a bedroom); utilites; food; clothing; transportation; insurance; medical care; staples; school fees and supplies; and all the other incidental of life, alone and unassisted. A minor who needs the financial support of friends or family, or worse, the state, to survive is not a candidate for emancipation.

We tell the teens on these boards who come looking for emancipation that a valid reason for emancipation is, My parents were killed in a car crash and I need to be emancipated so that I can pay the rent and keep the lights on and take care of my younger siblings. Difficulties with family, even if the family is beating and starving them, is not grounds for emancipation. It may be grounds to be removed from the home and placed in foster care or with another relative, but not emancipation.

I suspect that you, like many others before you, were confusing a change of custody or guardianship with emancipation. A custody or guardianship change puts the minor in the care and control of someone other than a parent; emancipation puts the minor outside the care and control of all adults and leaves the minor solely and entirely responsible for him or herself. Not a good spot for the average 14 year old.

 

[stealth2]

If Mom wants her child returned home, I would seriously suggest your doing so. You face legal problems otherwise.