A habitual runaway is defined as what within a calendar year?

• A. 2nd in a year
• B. 4th in a year
• C. 1st in a year
• D. 3rd in a year

Answer: (D)

The concept tested is the threshold for labeling a juvenile as a habitual runaway within a year. In most definitions, a habitual runaway is someone who runs away three or more times in a single calendar year. So the defining point is the third incident: once a youth has run away three times in that year, they meet the habitual status.

For example, if a youth runs away in January, again in May, and again in November, that makes three runaways within one year, which qualifies as habitual. The first and second runaways don’t meet the threshold because they don’t show repeated behavior within the same year. Four or more runaways also meet the habitual criteria, but the key defining moment is the third occurrence.