I'm a first time novelist, and my story revolves around a gay 13-year-old getting kicked out of his parents' house. What legally happens when parents kick out a minor child? Do they automatically lose custody/parental rights if they won't let the child come home? Does the child become a foster child/ward of the state?
I am pretty sure that if a parent kicked their underaged child out, that would fall under severe neglect, in which the government would most likely take the child and place them in foster care. (It is even possible for charges to be pressed on the parent for simply leaving their child, without atleast puting them in foster care themselves. It has been done before with young children so it could be something you could think about in your novel). Efforts are also usually made to see if anyone else in the family is willing to take the child. If a parents sends their child anyway to a grandparent or family member they still hold parental rights with that child (Unless they are considered incompetent). However, if the government has to take a child, there is always reason/neglect, so the government/foster care/etc holds more authority than the parent.
