Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Florida

A friend of my daughters is 18 and graduated from a FL high school this year. She has 2 scholarships for college and wants to further her education. However, her mother picked her up the day she graduated high school and took her to Kentucky for "a visit." Now she is not allowed to leave.

The mother pays lip service to supporting her daughters deisire for an education by telling her that she can come back to FL if and when she finds a job and a place to live. That is impossible to do as she is in Kentucky and not allowed to ask for help from people she knows here.

Last week she contacted me(without her mother's knowledge) and told me that she had purchased a bus ticket and was going to leave without telling her mother because she was afraid her mom would stop her. I told her she could stay with us for a while. She got on the bus this morning and apparently left her mom a note. Her mom drove to Atlanta - ahead of the bus and took her off of the bus and back to Kentucky.

This girl just wants to grow up, go to college and be allowed to do the things she ought to do. Her mother wants her and her older brother(who is not allowed to join the military) to stay at home and work with her in a factory and contribute to the things she wants(new car, etc.) They are Cambodian and the mom says this is the way things are done in their culture.

WHat legal rights does the young woman have? Can she get the police to help her get away from her home so she can come back here and take advantage of these scholarships while they are available? She has missed the fall semester and registration for spring begins this month.

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