Q: Can a foster child leave foster care when they turn 18 by their choice?
My girlfriend is 17, in high school, and in a foster care home. (I'm 19 and graduated last year) She feels just as mentally abused in that home as she did with her real parents, and some of the other foster children are trying to sexually abuse her and she is terrified in that home. She doesn't want to leave her friends she has at her high school, due to the fact that they are the only stability she has right now, including I, her boyfriend. She turns 18 soon and wants to leave those terrible people. I know she would lose the state funding for insurance and such, but are there any roadblocks to her leaving that house and living with a friend, or if need be me when she turns 18?
A: Yes, but more importantly if she feels she is threatened with abuse now she needs to reach out to a counselor or other person in a similar position. She wouldn't lose all state assistance but really needs to talk to a social worker or similar.
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