Call or text our hotline: 1-866-999-5263

Runaway Laws


Roughly 100,000 young Texans run away from home each year.

If you have run away, or are thinking about running away, the Texas Runaway Hotline (1-888-580-4357) can help you.

It provides:

    • Crisis intervention
    • Telephone counseling
    • Referrals for callers seeking food, shelter, or transportation

The number to reach this toll-free, 24-hour hotline is 1-888-580-4357.


When the Police Get Involved

In Texas, your parents or guardians can report you missing as a runaway if you are 16 or younger. They may also report you as a missing person if you are 17. This gives the police the right to find you and return you to your parents or guardians.

However, for the police to get involved someone first has to make a report that you have run away or gone missing. Some parents choose not to report anything to the police. Other parents force their teen daughters to leave home even though the parents are still legally responsible for their children until they turn 18.

If you ran away because you lived in an abusive home, you can report the abuse to any person licensed by the state (like a health worker, teacher, or police officer). These people will contact law enforcement or Child Protective Services.  You can also call Child Protective Services directly at 1-800-252-5400 to report the abuse and ask for help.


People Who Take You In

If you do not get permission from a parent or legal guardian to stay with someone else, any adult who lets you stay with them (including a relative) could be criminally charged with kidnapping, interference with child custody, and/or harboring a runaway.

Although a grandparent or adult brother or sister might not be prosecuted for taking in a runaway, the police can arrest them first and ask questions later.


If you are a pregnant minor in Texas, Jane’s Due Process is here to help you understand and exercise your legal rights. You are not alone. CALL Jane’s Due Process’ Legal Hotline: 1-866-WWW-JANE or 1-866-999-5263. Or TEXT to 512-270-7190.