Emancipation and Required Authoritative Intervention Lawyer Manual

Emancipation of Minor

750 ILCS 30/1 et seq.

• The child must be 16 or 17
• The parents or guardian must agree according to the statute, but the court occasionally waives agreement
• The court may completely or partially emancipate the minor

A court must find the minor:

• Is of sound mind
• Has the capacity and maturity to manage his or her own affairs, or
• Is homeless (living apart from his or her parents, either with another or in a temporary shelter or does not want to return to the residence of a parent) 

The emancipation must promote the best interest of the minor and the family.

Minor Requiring Authoritative Intervention (MRAI)

705 ILCS 405/3 et seq.  

Authoritative Intervention Required

705 ILCS 405/3-3 

Authoritative intervention is required when the minor is under 18 and:

• Is absent from home without consent; or
• Is beyond the control of the parent or guardian and in physical danger; and
• Refuses to return home after crisis services have been offered and the minor and parents cannot agree to alternative placement.

Limited Custody

705 ILCS 405/3-4  

Law enforcement may take the minor into limited custody if the officer reasonably believes that the minor is absent from home without parental consent or is beyond control of the parent and in physical danger.

After taking limited custody, the officer must tell the minor the reason for the limited custody and attempt to notify the parent of the location of the minor. If the minor consents the officer shall return or release the minor to the parent. The officer may also facilitate connecting the minor to any necessary supportive or crisis services.

If the parent cannot be reached, the minor refuses return to the parent, or an assisted return is geographically unreasonable, then the officer shall take the minor to an agency providing crisis services. If involuntarily taken, the minor cannot be held for more than 6 hours. Limited custody is not an arrest and no "police record" is created.

Crisis Intervention

705 ILCS 405/3-5 

Crisis intervention services are provided to a minor taken into limited custody or who requests such services. The officer or agency staff may also facilitate connecting the minor to any necessary supportive or crisis services.

An agency may temporarily shelter a minor if the agency tries to get the minor back home as soon as possible. The minor cannot be sheltered for more than 48 hours without parental consent unless the agency documents that it was unsuccessful in notifying a parent. If the parent cannot be notified, the minor may be sheltered for up to 21 days.

If the parent will not let the minor return home and will not agree on an alternative placement, a report of neglect may be made to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). If DCFS determines the minor is not neglected but is physical danger, DCFS shall either have the minor admitted to a mental health facility, ask law enforcement to take custody or make other appropriate action to safeguard the minor and/or others living in the minor’s home.