2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title I - The State and Its Government › Chapter 21-V - Office of the Child Advocate › Section 21-V:1 - Definitions.

21-V:1 Definitions. –
In this chapter, and unless the specific context indicates otherwise:
I. "Agency" means any department, institution, bureau, or office of the state, as well as other public and private children and youth service organizations providing services under contract or agreement with an executive agency; provided that "agency" shall not include the judicial council or any entity for which the council provides services.
II. "Child advocate" means the administrative head of the office of the child advocate.
III. "Critical incident" means:
(a) A fatality of a child, including, but not limited to, circumstances of accident, child abuse, child neglect, homicide or other violence, natural cause, overdose, suicide, or terminal illness.
(b) A near fatality or serious bodily or emotional injury of a child.
(c) Abduction of a child.
(d) Human trafficking of a child, including, but not limited to, labor trafficking, sex trafficking, or child sexual abuse images.
(e) The death of a parent or guardian of a child.
(f) An accident involving division staff with a child, parent, or provider.
(g) Suicide or attempted suicide by a child.
(h) Rape or other sexual assault of a child.
(i) Serious physical injury or risk thereof to a child.
(j) Serious psychological injury or risk thereof of a child.
(k) An inquiry made by the governor's office, the department of health and human service's commissioner's office, or the division child advocate's office regarding a child.
(l) Circumstances which result in a reasonable belief that the division failed in its duty to protect a child and, as a result, the child was at imminent risk of, or suffered serious bodily or emotional injury or death.
(m) A media report of a child.
(n) Any restraint or seclusion of a child.
(o) Any other incident that may seriously affect the health and well-being of a child.
IV. "Child" or "youth" means a person under the age of 21 who is in the custody of or receiving services from the division, or who was in the custody of or received services from the division within the past 3 years, or whose siblings, parents, or other caretakers have been the subject of a report to the division within the past 3 years, or who is receiving services from any executive agency.
V. "Division" means the department of health and human services, division for children, youth and families.
VI. "Executive agency" means a state agency within the executive branch that provides services to children.
VII. "Office" means the office of the child advocate.
VIII. "Oversight" means review, monitoring, and evaluation of any executive agency, and all contracted programs, providers, services, and activities of those executive agencies as well as executive agencies' policies, procedures, and practices and implementation and amendment of such policies, procedures, and practices related to the care of, or services to, children.
IX. "Oversight commission" means the oversight commission on children's services established under RSA 21-V:10.
X. "Record" means all records, documents, books, papers, files, photographs, microfilms, sound recordings, magnetic storage media, drafts, computer data, court documents, reports, electronic databases, emails and any other form of communication, and all other materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, created, generated, recorded, received, possessed, or controlled by or on behalf of executive agencies.
Source.
2020, 26:9, eff. Sept. 18, 2020.