My rights as a 15 year old parent.

[Slashay]

Okay.. I have been searching for days. I have asked everyone I knew but, no one seems to be able to help me.

I am a 15 year old and I have a 2 month old daughter. I have been in foster care once and I am now in temporary custody of my aunt. I have not lived with my parents for a total of 4 years.
Our situation right now is we have became low on money and are getting ready to have to leave our apartment. I have two younger sisters and if we have to leave they have a home to go to with my youngest sisters dad.

They are wanting to place me in a orphanage home along with my child. I do not want my daughter to go through all of the things I did growing up.

I have no clue on what my rights are as a parent or what I could do to keep from me and my child having to go to a home.

1.) do I have any rights that may help me overcome this situation I'm in?
2.) marriage... Is it possible?
3.) what should I do to keep this from happening?

Before anyone thinks that I am just a self-centered teenager wanting to get married or leave my family. I just want you to understand that I know what it feels like in foster care and in reliative placement and without being around my mom and dad. I do not want my chile to experience those type things. So, I need help with a solution that can save me and my baby.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[CdwJava]

No, you have no "rights" to permit you to leave foster care. A petition for emancipation may be filed by a parent or legal guardian, or counsel, if it is in the best interests of the child (i.e. you). Since you have a minor child, are 15, have no job and cannot care for yourself, this is not a realistic option.

To marry you will need to be at least 16 AND have both parents (or legal guardians) permission.

Your only options are to accept generic foster care or see if you can get a family friend or relative to qualify as a foster parent to take you in.

As a minor child who has engaged in what could have been unlawful intercourse and gotten pregnant, it is apparent that you are in need of greater supervision and not less. No court will be inclined to grant emancipation in your situation, and you are incapable of legally providing for yourself. Any living situation will have to come about as a result of placement through social services. So, you will have to work within that system at least until the age of 18 when you can depart and make your own decisions.

 

[ElleMD]

The way to ensure your child has a better life would be to wait to have said child until you are at least old enough to drink, married in a stable loving home, with a suitable means of support. Getting pregnant at 15 with an unstable home life yourself achieves none of this. If you truly love this baby and want the best life for her, consider adoption. that way baby at least has a prayer of stability. It is going to be years before your life is such that you can provide anything close to what she needs. She deserves two parents who love her and a stable home where money isn't always short and there isn't a revolving door of relatives in and out of her life. I'm almost afraid to ask where the father is. Going guess slightly older but no less stable and no longer in the picture or you would have mentioned him.

Marriage isn't something you do as a way out of a bad situation. That you think it is raises all kinds of red flags and tells us you aren't mature enough to even consider it. Understandable as you are only 15.

Foster care as you know, isn't fun, but it is less so for your baby. You do not get to decide where you live and consequently, where your baby lives, until you turn 18.

 

[Betty3]

Believe it or not but you are only a child yourself. Please do consider adoption if you really want what is best for your child. The best of luck to you.

 

[disagreeable]

Perhaps you can give residential custody of the child to dad and you have visitation. Then the child won't be in foster care.

 

[Betty3]

If you're talking about the baby's Dad, I wonder where he is & how old he is.

 

[txls]

I don't see many alternatives if you do not have anyone you can live with and you do not have the means to provide a place to live. At least the orphanage will keep you and your child together. If adoption is not the way you want to go, then this may be your best bet for now. Regardless of what your "rights" are, which is your question, you and your baby need a place to live.

 

[shrinkmaster]

You live where your parents or legal guardians say you live you have no other option. If you do not wish for your child to live in this place you have give child to Father or relative otherwise you could give child up for adoption.