V.I. Code tit. 34, § 452 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 34 - Welfare|Chapter 15 - The Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Prevention Act|§ 452. Definitions

 The following terms have the meaning set forth in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise— (a) “Abandonment” means the desertion or willful forsaking of an elder or dependent adult by anyone having care or custody of that person under circumstances in which a reasonable person would continue to provide care and custody. (b) “Abduction” means the removal from the dwelling or the territory or the restraint from returning to the dwelling or the territory, of any elder or dependent adult who does not have the capacity to consent to such removal or restraint, by any conservatee without the consent of the conservator or the court. (c) “Abuse of an elder or dependent adult” means any of the following: (1) Physical, emotional or financial abuse, neglect, abandonment, isolation, abduction, or other treatment resulting in physical or emotional injury, maltreatment, sexual conduct with an elder or dependent adult, or exploitation of an elder or dependent adult by any person; or (2) The deprivation by a care custodian of goods or services that are necessary to avoid physical or emotional injury; or (3) Use of a physical or chemical restraint or psychotropic medication under any of the following conditions: (A) For punishment; (B) For a period beyond that for which the medication was ordered pursuant to the instructions of a physician or surgeon licensed in the Virgin Islands, who is providing medical care to the elder or dependent adult at the time the instructions are given; or (C) For any purpose not authorized by a physician or surgeon. (d) “Adult protective services” means those preventive and remedial activities performed on behalf of elder and dependent adults who are unable to protect their own interests. (e) “Care custodian” means an administrator or an employee of any of the following public or private facilities or agencies, not-for-profit agencies or persons providing care or services for elder and dependent adults, including members of the support staff and maintenance staff: (1) Twenty-four-hour health facilities; (2) Clinics; (3) Home health agencies; (4) Agencies providing publicly funded in-home supportive services, nutrition services, or other home and community-based support services; (5) Adult day health care centers and adult day care; (6) Secondary schools that serve 18 to 22-year-olds and postsecondary educational institutions that serve elder and dependent adults; (7) Independent living centers; (8) Camps, including but not limited to: (A) Alzheimer's Disease day care resource centers; (B) Community care facilities, as defined by the Department of Human Services, and residential care facilities for the elderly or dependent adults; (C) Respite care facilities; (D) Foster homes; (E) vocational rehabilitation facilities and work activity centers; (F) Designated area agencies on aging; (G) Regional centers for persons with developmental disabilities; (9) Territory Department of Human Services and Territory Department of Health Services licensing divisions; (A) District welfare departments; (B) Offices of patients' rights advocates and clients' rights advocates, including attorneys; and (C) Offices of public conservators, public guardians, and court investigators; or (10) Any protection or advocacy established to fulfill the mandates and assurances of the following; (A) The federal Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000, contained in Chapter 144 of Title 42 of the United States Code, for protection and advocacy of the rights of persons with developmental disabilities; and (B) Any other protective, public, sectarian, mental health, or private assistance or advocacy agency or person providing health services or social services to elder and dependent adults. (f) “Caretaker” means any person who has the care, custody, or control of or who stands in a position of trust with an elder or dependent adult. (g) “Caregiver” means a person who provides direct care as for elderly people, or the dependent adult. (h) “Clergy member” means a priest, minister, rabbi, religious practitioner, or similar functionary of a church, synagogue, temple, mosque, or recognized religious denomination or organization. “Clergy member” does not include unpaid volunteers whose principal occupation or vocation does not involve active or ordained ministry in a church, synagogue, temple, mosque, or recognized religious denomination or organization, and who periodically visit elder or dependent adults on behalf of that church, synagogue, temple, mosque, or recognized religious denomination or organization. (i) “Clients' rights advocate” means the individual or individuals assigned by a territorial center or hospital developmental center to be responsible for clients' rights assurance for persons with developmental disabilities. (j) “Dependent adult” means any person between the ages of 18 to 59 who has physical or mental limitations that restrict the person's ability to carry out normal activities or to protect a persons' rights. (k) “Elder” means any person residing in this territory, 60 years of age or older. (l) “Exploitation” means an act or course of conduct to influence or interfere by misrepresentation, coercion or threats of force, whether for monetary, personal, or other benefit, gain or profit. (m) “Financial abuse” or “Financial exploitation/abuse” of an elder or dependent adult means when a person or entity does any of the following: (1) Takes, secretes, appropriates, or retains real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud; or (2) Assists in taking, secreting, appropriating, or retaining real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud. (3) Not limited to fraud, taking money under false pretenses, forgery, forced or coerced property transfers, including use of legal guardianship arrangements or a power of attorney for changing of wills and titles to property, purchasing expensive items with the elder's assets or money without the person's knowledge, or denying the elder access to the elder's own funds or home. (n) “Goods and services necessary to avoid physical harm or mental suffering” include any of the following: (1) The provision of medical care for physical and mental health needs; (2) Assistance in personal hygiene; (3) Adequate clothing; (4) Adequately cooled or heated and ventilated shelter; (5) Protection from health and safety hazards; (6) Protection from malnutrition, under those circumstances where the results include, but are not limited to, malnutrition and deprivation of necessities or physical punishment; and (7) Transportation and assistance necessary to secure any of the needs set forth in subparagraphs (1) through (6). (o) “Health practitioner” means a physician, surgeon, medical examiner, psychiatrist, psychologist, dentist, resident, intern, podiatrist, chiropractor, licensed nurse, dental hygienist, licensed clinical social worker or associate clinical social worker, marriage, family, and child counselor, or any other person who is currently licensed under Virgin Islands law, any emergency medical technician I or II, paramedic, or person certified by the Virgin Islands Department of Health, a psychological assistant registered with the Virgin Islands Department of Human Services or the Department of Health, a marriage, family, territory or district public health or social service employee who treats an elder or dependent adult for any condition. (p) “Imminent danger” means an elder or dependent adult being in immediate or impending risk of death or serious physical harm, through either the elder or dependent adult's own action or inaction, or as a result of the action or inaction of another person. (q) “Investigation” means that activity undertaken to determine the validity of a report of elder or dependent adult abuse. (r) “Isolation” means any of the following: (1) Acts intentionally committed for the purpose of preventing, and which serve to prevent, an elder or dependent adult from receiving mail or telephone calls; or (2) Preventing the elder or dependent adult from having contact with family, friends, or concerned persons contrary to the express wishes of the elder or dependent adult. (s) “Long-term care facility” means any of the following: (1) Any long-term health care facility, as defined by the Department of Human Services; (2) Any community care facility, as defined by the Department of Human Services, whether licensed or unlicensed; (3) Any adult day health care facility, as defined by the Department of Health. (4) Any residential care facility for the elderly or dependent adult, as defined by the Department of Human Services. (t) “Mandated reporter” means any person who has assumed full or intermittent responsibility for care or custody of an elder or dependent adult, whether or not that person receives compensation, including administrators, supervisors, and any licensed staff of a public or private facility that provides care or services for elder or dependent adults, or any elder or dependent adult custodian, health practitioner, clergy member, or employee of the Department Human Services or a local law enforcement agency and are required by law to report abuse or neglect of an elder or dependent adult. (u) “Mental suffering” means fear, agitation, confusion, severe depression, or other forms of serious emotional distress that is brought about by forms of intimidating behavior, threats, harassment, or by deceptive acts performed or false or misleading statements made with malicious intent to agitate, confuse, frighten, or cause severe depression or serious emotional distress of the elder or dependent adult. (v) “Multidisciplinary personnel team” means any team of two or more persons who are trained in the prevention, identification, and treatment of abuse of the elder or dependent adults and who are qualified to provide a broad range of services related to abuse of the elder or dependent adults, including: (1) Psychiatrists, psychologists, or other trained counseling personnel; (2) Police officers or other law enforcement agents; (3) Medical personnel with sufficient training to provide health services; (4) Social workers with experience or training in prevention of abuse of elder or dependent adults; (5) Public guardians; and (6) Ombudsmen. (w) “Neglect”/“Self-Neglect” means: (1) The negligence or failure of any person having the care or custody of an elder or dependent adult or a duty to exercise that degree of care that a reasonable person in a like position would exercise; or (2) The negligence or failure of an elder or dependent adult to exercise that degree of self-care that a reasonable person in a like position would exercise, including: (A) Failure to assist in personal hygiene, or in the provision of food, clothing, or shelter; (B) Failure to provide medical care for physical and mental health needs; (C) Failure to protect from health and safety hazards; (D) Failure to prevent malnutrition or dehydration, including prolonged or continual deprivation of food or water; (E) Failure of elder or dependent adults to satisfy the needs specified in paragraphs (A) through (D), inclusive, for themselves as a result of poor cognitive functioning, mental limitation, substance abuse, or chronic poor health; and (x) “Ombudsman” means a representative of the Department of Human Services Division of Protective Services for the Elderly or a government official or patient advocate, appointed by the Commissioner of Human Services whose duties include: (1) receiving and investigating complaints made by individuals against abusive or capricious acts of care providers; (2) determining the validity of reports; (3) referring verified abuse cases to appropriate agencies for further action as necessary; and (4) following up to complete the required report information. (y) “Patient rights advocate” means a person who has no direct or indirect clinical or administrative responsibility for the patient, and who is responsible for ensuring that the applicable laws, regulations, and policies as they pertain to the rights of the patient are observed. (z) “Penitential communication” means a communication that is intended to be in confidence, including, but not limited to, a sacramental confession made to a clergy member who, in the course of the discipline or practice of the clergy members, church, denomination, or organization is authorized or accustomed to hear those communications and under the discipline tenets, customs, or practices of the church, denomination, or organization, has a duty to keep those communications secret. (aa) “Representative” means an individual or entity that is: (1) A conservator, trustee, or other representative in the territory of an elder or dependent adult; or (2) An attorney-in-fact of an elder or dependent adult who acts within the authority of the power of attorney.