Among the alternatives that are available to redress some of the problems faced by homeless youth is emancipation. This area is of particular interest to JRI because Massachusetts does not currently have an emancipation statute. Emancipation may be viewed as a `catch-all' concept that operates to provide minors with the aggregate set of options discussed throughout this paper. As such, the reader will find emancipation concepts woven into discussions of the mature minor rule, legal access and shelter restriction. The `catch-all' nature of emancipation, however, reveals both its strengths and weaknesses.