Sec. 07.02.25.02. Definitions

A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

B. Terms Defined.

(1) "Abandoned" means:

(a) Not in the care of a caretaker appointed by the child's parent or the court, and the whereabouts of the child's parents remains unknown after reasonable efforts to locate them have been unsuccessful; or

(b) When the parent has left the child with someone but fails to maintain contact with the caretaker, and no other individual has legal authority to exercise custody or guardianship over the child whose health or well-being is threatened.

(2) "Abuse" means:

(a) Child abuse as defined in Family Law Article, §5-701, Annotated Code of Maryland; or

(b) Sexual abuse of a child as defined in Family Law Article, §5-701, Annotated Code of Maryland, whether or not physical injuries are sustained.

(3) "Administration" means the Social Services Administration of the Department of Human Services.

(4) "Adoption" means the legal proceeding by which an individual becomes the child of the adoptive family and which confers on the adopted child all the legal rights and privileges to which a child born to that family would be entitled.

(5) “Cordless window covering” means:

(a) A horizontal blind or cellular shade that has no draw cord and the internal lift cord runs in the slats of the horizontal blind so that the cord is incapable of forming a loop greater than 7.25 inches;

(b) A roman shade, roll-up blind, or woven shade that has no draw cord and the lift cord is completely enclosed so that it is not accessible;

(c) A vertical blind that has a wand as its operating mechanism and does not contain any beaded chains, corded pulleys, or other corded loop operating mechanisms; and

(d) A roller shade that does not contain a cord or beaded chain.

(6) "Cost of care" means all the costs associated with the care of the child in out-of-home placement, including the board rate, clothing allowance, and any supplemental expenditures made to meet the child's special needs.

(7) "Department" means Department of Human Services.

(8) "Dual approval" means:

(a) The approval of a prospective family as a resource for both foster care and adoption; or

(b) The approval of a prospective family as a resource for both foster care and day care.

(9) "Emergency foster care" means foster care provided to a child who requires immediate placement because of abandonment, serious immediate danger, or other emergency.

(10) "Family" means the basic family unit consisting of one or more adults and any children related by blood, marriage, adoption, legal guardianship, or domestic partnership as defined in Health General Article, §6-101, Annotated Code of Maryland, and residing in the same household.

(11) Foster Care.

(a) "Foster care" means continuous 24-hour care and support services provided for a minor child placed by a child placement agency in an approved family home.

(b) "Foster care" includes:

(i) Services to the child's parents or legal guardian(s), siblings, and other relatives in order to achieve a safe, permanent placement for the child;

(ii) Services to the resource parents and supervision of the child in the foster care placement to assure that the placement promotes the child's physical, emotional, and intellectual growth and well-being; and

(iii) Post-placement services to the child and the child's caregiver to prevent placement disruption or re-entry into out-of-home placement.

(12) "Foster care worker" means a staff person assigned to provide foster care support services to a foster child and the child's family.

(13) "Foster parent" means an individual approved by a local department to provide 24-hour care for a foster child in the home where the individual resides.

(14) "Inactive resource home" means an approved resource home in good standing with the local department that chooses to suspend acceptance of foster care placements for up to 1 year.

(15) “Household” means the location where the resource parent applicant or approved resource parent resides.

(16) “Household member” means an individual who lives in or is regularly present in a household.

(17) "ICPC" means the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children as set forth in Family Law Article, §§5-601-5-611, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(18) "Kinship care" means continuous 24-hour care and supportive services provided for a child placed by a child placement agency in the home of a relative related by blood or marriage within the fifth degree of consanguinity or affinity as set forth in Estates and Trusts Article, §1-203, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(19) "Kinship parent" means an individual who is:

(a) A relative of a child who is in the care, custody, or guardianship of a local department; and

(b) Who is not an approved resource parent, but has been designated by the local department as the temporary 24-hour caregiver of the child.

(20) "Local department" means a department of social services in a county or Baltimore City or the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services.

(21) "Local director" means the chief administrator of a local department of social services.

(22) "Neglect" means neglect as defined in Family Law Article, §5-701, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(23) "Parent" means the legal mother or father of a child or the biological mother or father whose rights have not been terminated, or a legal guardian other than a local department.

(24) "Permanency plan" means a plan specifying where and with whom a child shall live, and the proposed legal relationship between the child and the permanent caretaker or caretakers.

(25) "Provisional approval" means temporary emergency approval, valid for only 120 days, by a local department of a restricted relative resource home that has undergone an expedited inspection as outlined in Regulation .11 of this chapter.

(26) "Regular foster care" means foster care that is provided to all children in foster care who do not require extra care and supervision because of special physical, emotional, or behavioral needs.

(27) “Regularly present in household” means visiting or staying in a home with sufficient frequency to make an individual a significant part of the child’s or family’s life.

(28) “Relative” means an individual who is related to the child by blood or marriage within five degrees of consanguinity or affinity, and is:

(a) Twenty-one years old or older, or

(b) Eighteen years or older, and lives with a spouse who is 21 years or older.

(29) "Resource family" means an individual or family unit dually approved to be available as both foster care and adoptive caregivers.

(30) "Resource home" means an individual or family dually approved by a local department to be available as both foster care and adoptive caregivers.

(31) "Resource home worker” means a local department staff person assigned to work with the resource family.

(32) “Resource parent” is an individual dually approved as a foster and adoptive parent.

(33) "Restricted resource home" means a family resource home approved to serve a specific foster child or children and only that child or children.

(34) "Secondhand smoke" means a complex mixture of gases and particles that includes:

(a) Sidestream smoke, that is, smoke from a burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe; and

(b) Exhaled mainstream smoke.

(35) "Supportive services" means services purchased on behalf of a child to support and maintain a child in the community.

(36) "Treatment foster care" means a program designed and implemented by a child placement agency to provide intensive casework and treatment in a family setting to children with special physical, emotional or behavioral needs as described in COMAR 07.02.21.