214 R.I. Code R. 214-RICR-30-00-1.5

Current through November 7, 2024

Section 214-RICR-30-00-1.5 - Definitions

A. "Another planned permanent living arrangement" or "APPLA" means a living arrangement for a youth age sixteen (16) or older whom the Department maintains care and custody of the youth and in which the youth is expected to remain until adulthood. APPLA is a permanency option only when other options such as reunification, relative placement, adoption, or legal guardianship have been ruled out. APPLA placements must follow the reasonable and prudent parent standard, ensuring the youth has regular, ongoing opportunities to engage in age or developmentally-appropriate activities.

B. "Caregiver" means a parent or legal guardian or other person responsible for the child's welfare.

C. "Case activity note" or "CAN" means a window in RICHIST where case-related notes and comments can be entered into the electronic case record.

D. "Child protective services clearance" means a check of the Department's Child Protective Services (CPS) records for many individuals, including minors and adults, who provide care to children and youth. The Department's Child Protective Services clearance is also known as a Clearance of Agency Activity.

E. "Child welfare services" means preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families by identifying family problems, assisting families in resolving their problems, and preventing breakup of the family where the prevention of child removal is desirable and possible, Pub. Laws No. 96-272 § 45.

G. "CPI" means the Department's Field Child Protective Investigator.

H. "CPS" means the Department's Child Protective Services division.

I. "CPS hotline" means the Department's Child Protective Services (CPS) Hotline that provides a statewide, toll-free phone number to receive child abuse and neglect (CA/N) reports 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

J. "Department" means Rhode Island's Department of Children, Youth and Families.

K. "Family" means two or more persons who interact and provide one another with physical, emotional, social and/or economic care. This may include a person(s) not legally related to the individual. Members of a family may include, but is not limited to, children, parents, spouses, domestic partners, different-sex and same-sex spouses and/or domestic partners, and siblings (including sister, brother, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister).

1. "Sibling" means one of two or more individuals having a common parent through a biological, adoptive or other current or former legal relationship. This includes an individual who is considered by state or tribal law to be a sibling of a child or youth or an individual who would have been considered a sibling of a child or youth but for the termination of or other disruption of parental rights, including the death of a parent.

L. "Foster care" means substitute care for a child who is placed away from the child's parents or guardians and for whom the Department has placement and care responsibility through either court order pursuant to a dependent, neglect and/or abuse petition or voluntary placement agreement.

1. Foster care does not include placement in a training school or any other facility operated primarily for the detention of children who are determined to be wayward or delinquent.

M. "FSU" means the Department's Family Services Unit.

N. "High risk" means a child or youth who is missing from care has one or more of the following factors present:

1. Has been or is believed to have been abducted;

2. Is age thirteen (13) or younger;

3. One or more medical or behavioral conditions that if not treated may palace him/her at increased risk;

4. Is pregnant and/or parenting and the infant/child is believed to be with him/her;

5. A developmental disability that impairs the child's/youth's/young adult's ability to care for themselves;

6. A history of criminal activity and/or gang involvement;

7. A history of fleeing the state;

8. A serious alcohol and or/substance misuse problem; and/or

9. A history of or vulnerability to sexual exploitation or sex trafficking.

O. "Indian child" means any unmarried person who is under the age of eighteen (18) and is either:

1. a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe; or

2. is eligible for membership in a federally recognized Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe.

P. "Kin" means an individual who is related to the child by blood, marriage or adoption.

Q. "Person responsible for the child's welfare" means the child's parent or guardian, any individual, 18 years of age or older, who resides in the home of a parent or guardian and has unsupervised access to a child, a foster parent (relative or non-relative), an employee of a public or private residential home or facility or any staff person providing out-of-home care, which includes family child care, group child care and center-based child care.

R. "Primary worker" means the Department worker with primary responsibility for the case management of a child open to the Department.

S. "Reasonable and prudent parent standard" means careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the child's health, safety, and best interest.

T. "Relative" means a grandparent, great grandparent, great-great grandparent, aunt, great aunt, great-great aunt, uncle, great-uncle, great-great uncle, first cousin, first cousin once removed, niece, great niece, great-great niece, nephew, great nephew or great-great nephew.

1. Spouses of any of the persons in the above group continue to meet this relationship requirement even after the marriage is terminated by death or divorce.

U. "RICHIST" means the Rhode Island Children's Information System. It is the Department's automated information system to document case work on behalf of clients and the state.

V. "RITS" means the Rhode Island Training School.

W. "Service plan" means a written plan that identifies safety and permanency requirements of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) and addresses the needs of children and their families through a coordination of services as determined through various standardized assessments.

X. "Standardized screening tool" means an assessment instrument that is developed based on statistical analysis of identifying factors that statistically predict child maltreatment. The assessment tool is utilized to screen reports made to the central intake center for purposes of screening in CPS reports for an investigation or a family assessment response.

Y. "Wayward" means any child who has deserted their home without good or sufficient cause; or who habitually associates with dissolute, vicious, or immoral persons; or who is leading an immoral or vicious life; or who is habitually disobedient to the reasonable and lawful commands of his parent(s), guardian, or other lawful custodian; or who being required to attend school (ages seven (7) to sixteen (16)) willfully or habitually absents themselves therefrom or habitually violates rules and regulation of the school where they attend; or who has on occasion violated any of the ordinances of cities and towns, other than ordinances relating to the operation of motor vehicles.

Z. "Young adult" means an individual who has attained 18 years of age but has not reached the age of 21, and was in the legal custody of the Department on his or her 18th birthday due to:

1. the filing of a miscellaneous or dependency petition, or

2. the filing of a petition alleging child abuse, neglect, or

3. was in foster care and adopted or placed in a legal guardianship where the adoption or guardianship agreement was executed on or after the youth's 16th birthday and prior to the young adult's 18th birthday.

214 R.I. Code R. 214-RICR-30-00-1.5

Adopted effective 12/27/2018