Virginia Administrative Code › Title 22 - SOCIAL SERVICES › Agency 40 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Chapter 740 - ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES › Section 22VAC40-740-10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall
				  have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise:
"Abuse" means the willful infliction of physical pain, injury
				  or mental anguish or unreasonable confinement.
"Adult" means any person in the Commonwealth who is abused,
				  neglected, or exploited, or is at risk of being abused, neglected, or
				  exploited; and is 18 years of age or older and incapacitated, or is 60 years of
				  age and older.
"Adult protective services" means the receipt, investigation
				  and disposition of complaints and reports of adult abuse, neglect, and
				  exploitation of adults 18 years of age and over who are incapacitated and
				  adults 60 years of age and over by the local department of social services.
				  Adult protective services also include the provision of casework and care
				  management by the local department in order to stabilize the situation or to
				  prevent further abuse, neglect, and exploitation of an adult at risk of abuse,
				  neglect and exploitation. If appropriate and available, adult protective
				  services may include the direct provision of services by the local department
				  or arranging for home-based care, transportation, adult day services, meal
				  service, legal proceedings, alternative placements and other activities to
				  protect the adult and restore self-sufficiency to the extent possible.
"Collateral" means a person whose personal or professional
				  knowledge may help confirm or rebut the allegations of adult abuse, neglect or
				  exploitation or whose involvement may help ensure the safety of the
				  adult.
"Conservator" means a person appointed by the court who is
				  responsible for managing the estate and financial affairs of an incapacitated
				  person, and where the context plainly indicates, includes a "limited
				  conservator" or a "temporary conservator."
"Department" means the Virginia Department of Social
				  Services.
"Director" means the director or his delegated representative
				  of the department of social services of the city or county in which the adult
				  resides or is found.
"Disposition" means the determination of whether or not adult
				  abuse, neglect or exploitation has occurred.
"Documentation" means information and materials, written or
				  otherwise, concerning allegations, facts and evidence.
"Exploitation" means the illegal use of an incapacitated
				  adult or his resources for another's profit or advantage. This includes
				  acquiring an adult's resources through the use of the adult's mental or
				  physical incapacity, the disposition of the incapacitated adult's property by a
				  second party to the advantage of the second party and to the detriment of the
				  incapacitated adult, misuse of funds, acquiring an advantage through threats to
				  withhold needed support or care unless certain conditions are met, or
				  persuading an incapacitated adult to perform services including sexual acts to
				  which the adult lacks the capacity to consent.
"Guardian" means a person who has been legally invested with
				  the authority and charged with the duty of taking care of the person and
				  managing his property and protecting the rights of the person who has been
				  declared by the circuit court to be incapacitated and incapable of
				  administering his own affairs. The powers and duties of the guardian are
				  defined by the court and are limited to matters within the areas where the
				  person in need of a guardian has been determined to be incapacitated.
"Guardian ad litem" means an attorney appointed by the court
				  to represent the interest of the adult for whom a guardian or conservator is
				  requested. On the hearing of the petition for appointment of a guardian or
				  conservator, the guardian ad litem advocates for the adult who is the subject
				  of the hearing, and his duties are usually concluded when the case is
				  decided.
"Incapacitated person" means any adult who is impaired by
				  reason of mental illness, intellectual disability, physical illness or
				  disability, advanced age or other causes to the extent that the adult lacks
				  sufficient understanding or capacity to make, communicate or carry out
				  reasonable decisions concerning his or her well-being. This definition is for
				  the purpose of establishing an adult's eligibility for adult protective
				  services and such adult may or may not have been found incapacitated through
				  court procedures.
"Involuntary protective services" means those services
				  authorized by the court for an adult who has been determined to need protective
				  services and who has been adjudicated incapacitated and lacking the capacity to
				  consent to receive the needed protective services.
"Lacks capacity to consent" means a preliminary judgment of a
				  local department of social services social worker that an adult is unable to
				  consent to receive needed services for reasons that relate to emotional or
				  psychiatric problems, intellectual disability, developmental delay, or other
				  reasons which impair the adult's ability to recognize a substantial risk of
				  death or immediate and serious harm to himself. The lack of capacity to consent
				  may be either permanent or temporary. The worker must make a preliminary
				  judgment that the adult lacks capacity to consent before petitioning the court
				  for authorization to provide protective services on an emergency basis pursuant
				  to § 63.2-1609 of the Code of Virginia.
"Legally incapacitated" means that the person has been
				  adjudicated incapacitated by a circuit court because of a mental or physical
				  condition which renders him, either wholly or partially, incapable of taking
				  care of himself or his estate.
"Legally incompetent" means a person who has been adjudicated
				  incompetent by a circuit court because of a mental condition which renders him
				  incapable of taking care of his person or managing his estate.
"Legitimate interest" means a lawful, demonstrated privilege
				  to access the information as defined in § 63.2-104 of the Code of
				  Virginia.
"Local department" means any local department of social
				  services in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
"Mandated reporters" means those persons who are required to
				  report pursuant to § 63.2-1606 of the Code of Virginia when such persons
				  have reason to suspect that an adult is abused, neglected, or exploited or is
				  at risk of adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
"Mental anguish" means a state of emotional pain or distress
				  resulting from activity (verbal or behavioral) of a perpetrator. The intent of
				  the activity is to threaten or intimidate, cause sorrow or fear, humiliate,
				  change behavior or ridicule. There must be evidence that it is the
				  perpetrator's activity that has caused the adult's feelings of pain or
				  distress.
"Neglect" means that an adult is living under such
				  circumstances that he is not able to provide for himself or is not being
				  provided such services as are necessary to maintain his physical and mental
				  health and that the failure to receive such necessary services impairs or
				  threatens to impair his well-being. However, no adult shall be considered
				  neglected solely on the basis that such adult is receiving religious nonmedical
				  treatment or religious nonmedical nursing care in lieu of medical care,
				  provided that such treatment or care is performed in good faith and in
				  accordance with the religious practices of the adult and there is written or
				  oral expression of consent by that adult. Neglect includes the failure of a
				  caregiver or another responsible person to provide for basic needs to maintain
				  the adult's physical and mental health and well-being, and it includes the
				  adult's neglect of self. Neglect includes, but is not limited to:
1. The lack of clothing considered necessary
				to protect a person's health;
2.
				The lack of food necessary to prevent physical injury or to maintain life,
				including failure to receive appropriate food for adults with conditions
				requiring special diets;
3. Shelter
				that is not structurally safe; has rodents or other infestations which may
				result in serious health problems; or does not have a safe and accessible water
				supply, safe heat source or sewage disposal. Adequate shelter for an adult will
				depend on the impairments of an adult; however, the adult must be protected
				from the elements that would seriously endanger his health (e.g., rain, cold or
				heat) and could result in serious illness or debilitating conditions;
4. Inadequate supervision by a caregiver
				(paid or unpaid) who has been designated to provide the supervision necessary
				to protect the safety and well-being of an adult in his care;
5. The failure of persons who are responsible
				for caregiving to seek needed medical care or to follow medically prescribed
				treatment for an adult, or the adult has failed to obtain such care for
				himself. The needed medical care is believed to be of such a nature as to
				result in physical and/or mental injury or illness if it is not
				provided;
6. Medical neglect
				includes, but is not limited to, the withholding of medication or aids needed
				by the adult such as dentures, eye glasses, hearing aids, walker, etc. It also
				includes the unauthorized administration of prescription drugs, over- or
				under-medicating, and the administration of drugs for other than bona fide
				medical reasons, as determined by a licensed health care professional;
				and
7. Self-neglect by an adult who
				is not meeting his own basic needs due to mental and/or physical impairments.
				Basic needs refer to such things as food, clothing, shelter, health or medical
				care.
"Notification" means informing designated and appropriate
				  individuals of the local department's action and the individual's
				  rights.
"Preponderance of evidence" means the evidence as a whole
				  shows that the facts are more probable and credible than not. It is evidence
				  that is of greater weight or more convincing than the evidence offered in
				  opposition.
"Report" means an allegation by any person that an adult is
				  in need of protective services. The term "report" shall refer to both reports
				  and complaints of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of adults. The report may be
				  made orally or in writing to the local department or by calling the Adult
				  Protective Services Hotline.
"Service plan" means a plan of action to address the service
				  needs of an adult in order to protect the adult, to prevent future abuse,
				  neglect or exploitation, and to preserve the autonomy of the adult whenever
				  possible.
"Unreasonable confinement" means the use of restraints
				  (physical or chemical), isolation, or any other means of confinement without
				  medical orders, when there is no emergency and for reasons other than the
				  adult's safety or well-being or the safety of others.
"Valid report" means the local department of social services
				  has evaluated the information and allegations of the report and determined that
				  the local department shall conduct an investigation because all of the
				  following elements are present:
1. The
				alleged victim adult is 60 years of age or older or is 18 years of age or older
				and is incapacitated;
2. There is a
				specific adult with enough identifying information to locate the
				adult;
3. Circumstances allege
				abuse, neglect or exploitation or risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation;
				and
4. The local department
				receiving the report is a local department of jurisdiction as described in
				22VAC40-740-21.
"Voluntary protective services" means those services provided
				  to an adult who, after investigation by a local department, is determined to be
				  in need of protective services and consents to receiving the services so as to
				  prevent further abuse, neglect, and exploitation of an adult at risk of abuse,
				  neglect and exploitation.