DR. WALLACE: I'm dating a sweet guy and I care for him very much. Both of us attend the same church, but go to different high schools. I like his mother (a single mom) and she likes me. My parents like my boyfriend and he likes them. One thing about his mother has me baffled though. She was talking to me about her high school days when she was a student at Boys Town in Nebraska. I just listened, but didn't ask any questions of her, or later to my boyfriend.

I want to know if it is possible for a girl to attend Boys Town? Also, how does a teen get into Boys Town? — Nameless, Chicago, Ill.

NAMELESS: Boys Town, the home for troubled youth, was immortalized in a movie starring Spencer Tracy.

Father Flanagan opened the home in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1917, and for more than 60 years the population remained all male. But girls started being admitted in 1979, at which point the name Boys Town suddenly became inaccurate. Today, girls make up almost half of the 33,000 young people living at sites in 18 states.

The students in Boys Town voted a new name and this venerable institution is now officially Girls and Boys Town. "Girls" come first in the new name so the words "boys" and "town" remain connected, according to the institution's executive director. The administration hoped the new name will help the facility reach more troubled girls without hindering fund-raising efforts.

When it originally opened, the facility was first known as Father Flanagan's Home for Boys. The founder decided to allow the residents to choose a new name on Valentine's Day in 1926. Boys Town was a landslide winner over Father Flanagan's personal choice, "Home for Little Valentines," which got only one vote. I wonder why?

CAN MY PARENTS STOP ME FROM LEAVING HOME?

DR. WALLACE: I'm 16 and live with a father I dislike very much for a number of reasons and with a mother I totally despise. I have an opportunity to move in with a buddy's family, but my parents refuse to allow me to go there. When I ask them why, they won't give me a good answer.

I feel like I'm old enough to decide where I want to live. Can my parents stop me from moving? - Nameless, Pittsburgh, Pa.

NAMELESS: Sorry to disappoint you, but you cannot leave home without your parents' permission until you reach your 18th birthday except in unusual circumstances, such as getting married or obtaining your freedom in a court of law.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. E-mail him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.