Legal Question in Juvenile Dependency in Michigan

At 17-1/2 years old, the person is still an unemancipated minor in the eyes of the law ... and the parents still have the legal responsibility to care for that child, etc. The parents have the right to determine where that minor lives, etc. --- whether that is to live at home, with a sibling, with a relative, with another adult, etc. Parents can also be held accountable for neglecting the child (e.g., failing to provide proper and encessary support, allowing the minor to live in an UNsafe home environment, etc.). At 17-1/2, the minor cannot sign contracts like leases, so an adult has to provide some basic necessities FOR that minor, even through charity/kindness. That all changes once the child turns 18 and becomes emancipated under the law. (Emancipation can occur earlier through other means, but as a general answer to your genral question, the 18th birthday is a benchmark date.) That "half a year" makes a big difference. Don't confuse subjective "maturity" with legal emancipation. There are a lot of 16 year olds who are more mature than many 26 year olds. But the law needs objective, across-the-board boundaries here.