Virginia Administrative Code › Title 22 - SOCIAL SERVICES › Agency 40 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Chapter 201 - PERMANENCY SERVICES - PREVENTION, FOSTER CARE, ADOPTION AND INDEPENDENT LIVING › Section 22VAC40-201-10 - 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:
"Administrative panel review" means a review of a child in
				  foster care that the local board conducts on a planned basis pursuant to §
				  63.2-907 of the Code of Virginia to evaluate the current status and
				  effectiveness of the objectives in the service plan and the services being
				  provided for the immediate care of the child and the plan to achieve a
				  permanent home for the child. The administrative review may be attended by the
				  birth parents or prior custodians and other interested individuals significant
				  to the child and family as appropriate.
"Adoption" means a legal process that entitles the person
				  being adopted to all of the rights and privileges, and subjects the person to
				  all of the obligations of a birth child.
"Adoption assistance" means a money payment provided to
				  adoptive parents or other persons on behalf of a child with special needs who
				  meets federal or state requirements to receive such payments.
"Adoption assistance agreement" means a written agreement
				  between the local board and the adoptive parents of a child with special needs
				  or in cases in which the child is in the custody of a licensed child-placing
				  agency, an agreement between the local board, the licensed child-placing
				  agency, and the adoptive parents that sets out the payment and services that
				  will be provided to benefit the child in accordance with Chapter 13 (§
				  63.2-1300 et seq.) of Title 63.2 of the Code of Virginia.
"Adoption Progress Report" means a report filed with the
				  juvenile court on the progress being made to place the child in an adoptive
				  home. Section 16.1-283 of the Code of Virginia requires that an Adoption
				  Progress Report be submitted to the juvenile court every six months following
				  termination of parental rights until the adoption is final.
"Adoptive home" means any family home selected and approved
				  by a parent, local board, or a licensed child-placing agency for the placement
				  of a child with the intent of adoption.
"Adoptive home study" means an assessment of a family
				  completed by a child-placing agency to determine the family's suitability for
				  adoption.
"Adoptive parent" means any provider selected and approved by
				  a parent or a child-placing agency for the placement of a child with the intent
				  of adoption.
"Adoptive placement" means arranging for the care of a child
				  who is in the custody of a child-placing agency in an approved home for the
				  purpose of adoption.
"Adult adoption" means the adoption of any person 18 years of
				  age or older, carried out in accordance with § 63.2-1243 of the Code of
				  Virginia.
"Agency placement adoption" means an adoption in which a
				  child is placed in an adoptive home by a child-placing agency that has custody
				  of the child.
"AREVA" means the Adoption Resource Exchange of Virginia that
				  maintains a registry and photo-listing of children waiting for adoption and
				  families seeking to adopt.
"Assessment" means an evaluation of the situation of the
				  child and family to identify strengths and services needed.
"Birth family" means the child's biological family.
"Birth parent" means the child's biological parent and for
				  purposes of adoptive placement means a parent by previous adoption.
"Birth sibling" means the child's biological sibling.
"Board" means the State Board of Social Services.
"Child" means any natural person under 18 years of age or,
				  for the purposes of the Fostering Futures program set forth in Article 2
				  (§ 63.2-917 et seq.) of Chapter 9 of the Code of Virginia, under 21 years
				  of age and meeting the eligibility criteria set forth in § 63.2-919 of the
				  Code of Virginia.
"Child-placing agency" means any person who places children
				  in foster homes, adoptive homes, or independent living arrangements pursuant to
				  § 63.2-1819 of the Code of Virginia or a local board that places children
				  in foster homes or adoptive homes pursuant to §§ 63.2-900, 63.2-903,
				  and 63.2-1221 of the Code of Virginia. Officers, employees, or agents of the
				  Commonwealth, or any locality acting within the scope of their authority as
				  such, who serve as or maintain a child-placing agency, shall not be required to
				  be licensed.
"Child with special needs" as it relates to adoption
				  assistance means a child who meets the definition of a child with special needs
				  set forth in § 63.2-1300 or 63.2-1301 B of the Code of Virginia.
"Children's Services Act" or "CSA" means a collaborative
				  system of services and funding that is child centered, family focused, and
				  community based when addressing the strengths and needs of troubled and at-risk
				  youth and their families in the Commonwealth.
"Claim for benefits," as used in § 63.2-915 of the Code
				  of Virginia and
				  22VAC40-201-115,
				  means (i) foster care maintenance, including enhanced maintenance; (ii) the
				  services set forth in a court approved foster care service plan, the foster
				  care services identified in an individual family service plan developed by a
				  family assessment and planning team or other multi-disciplinary team pursuant
				  to the Children's Services Act (§ 2.2-5200 et seq. of the Code of
				  Virginia), or a transitional living plan for independent living services; (iii)
				  the placement of a child through an agreement with the child's parents or
				  guardians, where legal custody remains with the parents or guardians; (iv)
				  foster care prevention services as set out in a prevention service plan; or (v)
				  placement of a child for adoption when an approved family is outside the
				  locality with the legal custody of the child, in accordance with
				  42 USC §
										671(a)(23).
"Close relative" means a grandparent, great-grandparent,
				  adult nephew or niece, adult brother or sister, adult uncle or aunt, or adult
				  great uncle or great aunt.
"Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department, his
				  designee, or his authorized representative.
"Community Policy and Management Team" or "CPMT" means a team
				  appointed by the local governing body pursuant to Chapter 52 (§ 2.2-5200
				  et seq.) of Title 2.2 of the Code of Virginia. The powers and duties of the
				  CPMT are set out in § 2.2-5206 of the Code of Virginia.
"Concurrent permanency planning" means utilizing a structured
				  case management approach in which reasonable efforts are made to achieve a
				  permanency goal, usually a reunification with the family, simultaneously with
				  an established alternative permanent plan for the child.
"Department" means the state Department of Social
				  Services.
"Denied," as used in § 63.2-915 of the Code of Virginia
				  and
				  22VAC40-201-115,
				  means the refusal to provide a claim for benefits.
"Dually approved" means applicants have met the required
				  standards to be approved as a foster and adoptive family home provider.
"Entrustment agreement" means an agreement that the local
				  board enters into with the parent, parents, or guardian to place the child in
				  foster care either to terminate parental rights or for the temporary care and
				  placement of the child. The agreement specifies the conditions for the care of
				  the child.
"Family assessment and planning team" or "FAPT" means the
				  local team created by the CPMT (i) to assess the strengths and needs of
				  troubled youths and families who are approved for referral to the team and (ii)
				  to identify and determine the complement of services required to meet their
				  unique needs. The powers and duties of the FAPT are set out in § 2.2-5208
				  of the Code of Virginia.
"Foster care"means 24-hour substitute care for children in
				  the custody of the local board or who remain in the custody of their parents,
				  but are placed away from their parents or guardians and for whom the local
				  board has placement and care responsibility through a noncustodial
				  agreement.
"Foster care maintenance payments" means payments to cover
				  those expenses made on behalf of a child in foster care including the cost of,
				  and the cost of providing, food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision, school
				  supplies, a child's incidentals, reasonable travel to the child's home for
				  visitation, and reasonable travel to remain in the school in which the child is
				  enrolled at the time of the placement. The term also includes costs for
				  children in institutional care and costs related to the child of a child in
				  foster care as set out in
				  42
				  USC §
										675.
"Foster care plan" means a written document filed with the
				  court in accordance with § 16.1-281 of the Code of Virginia that describes
				  the programs, care, services, and other support that will be offered to the
				  child and his parents and other prior custodians. The foster care plan defined
				  in this definition is the case plan referenced in
				  42
				  USC §
										675.
"Foster care prevention" means the provision of services to a
				  child and family to prevent the need for foster care placement.
"Foster care services" means the provision of a full range of
				  casework, treatment, and community services, including independent living
				  services, for a planned period of time to a child meeting the requirements as
				  set forth in § 63.2-905 of the Code of Virginia.
"Foster child" means a person younger than 21 years of age
				  for whom the local board has assumed placement and care responsibilities
				  through a noncustodial foster care agreement, entrustment, or court commitment
				  prior to such person's 18th birthday.
"Foster home" means the place of residence of any natural
				  person in which any child, other than a child by birth or adoption of such
				  person, resides as a member of the household.
"Foster parent" means an approved provider who gives 24-hour
				  substitute family care, room and board, and services for children or youth
				  committed or entrusted to a child-placing agency.
"Independent living arrangement" means placement of a child
				  at least 16 years of age who is in the custody of a local board or licensed
				  child-placing agency and has been placed by the local board or licensed
				  child-placing agency in a living arrangement in which he does not have daily
				  substitute parental supervision.
"Independent living services" means services and activities
				  provided to a child in foster care 14 years of age or older who was committed
				  or entrusted to a local board of social services, child welfare agency, or
				  private child-placing agency. Independent living services may also mean
				  services and activities provided to a person who (i) was in foster care on his
				  18th birthday and has not yet reached the age of 21 years or (ii) is at least
				  18 years of age and who, immediately prior to his commitment to the Department
				  of Juvenile Justice, was in the custody of a local department of social
				  services. Such services shall include counseling, education, housing,
				  employment, and money management skills development, access to essential
				  documents, and other appropriate services to help children or persons prepare
				  for self-sufficiency.
"Individual family service plan" or "IFSP" means the plan for
				  services developed by the FAPT in accordance with § 2.2-5208 of the Code
				  of Virginia.
"Intercountry placement" means the arrangement for the care
				  of a child in an adoptive home or foster care placement into or out of the
				  Commonwealth by a licensed child-placing agency, court, or other entity
				  authorized to make such placements in accordance with the laws of the foreign
				  country under which it operates.
"Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children" or "ICPC"
				  means a uniform law that has been enacted by all 50 states, the District of
				  Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which establishes orderly
				  procedures for the interstate placement of children and sets responsibility for
				  those involved in placing those children.
"Interstate placement" means the arrangement for the care of
				  a child in an adoptive home, foster care placement, or in the home of the
				  child's parent or with a relative or nonagency guardian, into or out of the
				  Commonwealth, by a child-placing agency or court when the full legal right of
				  the child's parent or nonagency guardian to plan for the child has been
				  voluntarily terminated or limited or severed by the action of any court.
"Investigation" means the process by which the child-placing
				  agency obtains information required by § 63.2-1208 of the Code of Virginia
				  about the placement and the suitability of the adoption. The findings of the
				  investigation are compiled into a written report for the circuit court
				  containing a recommendation on the action to be taken by the court.
"Kinship foster parent" means a relative or fictive kin who
				  gives 24-hour substitute family care, room and board, and services for children
				  or youth committed or entrusted to a child-placing agency.
"Kinship guardian" means the adult relative of a child who
				  has been awarded custody of the child in accordance with a kinship
				  guardianship, as established in § 63.2-1305 of the Code of Virginia, or a
				  kinship subsidy, as established in § 63.2-1306 of the Code of
				  Virginia.
"Kinship guardianship" means a relationship established in
				  accordance with § 63.2-1305 of the Code of Virginia between a child and an
				  adult relative of the child who has formerly acted as the child's foster parent
				  that is intended to be permanent and self-sustaining, as evidenced by the
				  transfer by the court to the adult relative of the child of the authority
				  necessary to ensure the protection, education, care and control, and custody of
				  the child and the authority for decision making for the child.
"Kinship Guardianship Assistance Agreement" means a written
				  agreement, binding on the parties to the agreement, between the agency and the
				  kinship guardian of the minor child that specifies the nature and the amount of
				  any payments and assistance to be provided under such agreement and stipulates
				  that the agreement shall remain in effect regardless of the state in which the
				  kinship guardian resides.
"Kinship Guardianship Assistance payment" means a money
				  payment provided to a kinship guardian on behalf of a child that was discharged
				  from foster care to the kinship guardian's custody in accordance with the
				  requirements of § 63.2-1305 of the Code of Virginia.
"Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program" means a program
				  consistent with
				  42 USC §
										673 that provides, subject to a kinship
				  guardianship assistance agreement developed in accordance with § 63.2-1305
				  of the Code of Virginia, payments to eligible individuals who have received
				  custody of a relative child of whom they had been the foster parents.
"Local board" means the local board of social services in
				  each county and city in the Commonwealth required by § 63.2-300 of the
				  Code of Virginia.
"Local department" means the local department of social
				  services of any county or city in the Commonwealth.
"Nonagency placement adoption" means an adoption in which the
				  child is not in the custody of a child-placing agency and is placed in the
				  adoptive home directly by the birth parent or legal guardian.
"Noncustodial foster care agreement" means an agreement that
				  the local department enters into with the parent or guardian of a child to
				  place the child in foster care when the parent or guardian retains custody of
				  the child. The agreement specifies the conditions for placement and care of the
				  child.
"Nonrecurring expenses" means expenses of adoptive parents
				  directly related to the adoption of a child with special needs as set out in
				  § 63.2-1301 D of the Code of Virginia or the expenses of a kinship
				  guardian directly related to obtaining legal custody of the child subject to
				  42 USC §
										673(d)(1)(D).
"Normalcy" means allowing children and youth in foster care
				  to experience childhood and adolescence in ways similar to their peers who are
				  not in foster care by empowering foster parents and congregate care staff to
				  use the reasonable and prudent parent standard as referenced in
				  Public
				  Law 113-183 (42 USC
				  §§
										671 and
				  675) when making
				  decisions regarding extracurricular, enrichment, and social activities.
"Parental placement" means locating or effecting the
				  placement of a child or the placing of a child in a family home by the child's
				  parent or legal guardian for the purpose of foster care or adoption.
"Permanency" means establishing family connections and
				  placement options for a child to provide a lifetime of commitment, continuity
				  of care, a sense of belonging, and a legal and social status that go beyond a
				  child's temporary foster care placements.
"Permanency planning" means a social work practice philosophy
				  that promotes establishing a permanent living situation for every child with an
				  adult with whom the child has a continuous, reciprocal relationship within a
				  minimum amount of time after the child enters the foster care system.
"Prior custodian" means the person who had custody of the
				  child and with whom the child resided, other than the birth parent, before
				  custody was transferred to or placement made with the child-placing agency when
				  that person had custody of the child.
"Prior family" means the family with whom the child resided,
				  including birth parents, relatives, or prior custodians, before custody was
				  transferred to or placement made with the child-placing agency.
"Reasonable and prudent parent standard," in accordance with
				  42
				  USC §
										675(10), means
				  the standard characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that
				  maintain the health, safety, and best interests of a child while at the same
				  time encouraging the emotional and developmental growth of the child that
				  foster parents and congregate care staff shall use when determining whether to
				  allow a child in foster care to participate in extracurricular, enrichment,
				  cultural, and social activities.
"Residential placement" means a placement in a licensed
				  publicly or privately owned facility, other than a private family home, where
				  24-hour care is provided to children separated from their families. A
				  residential placement includes placements in children's residential facilities
				  as defined in § 63.2-100 of the Code of Virginia.
"Reunification" means the return of the child to his home
				  after removal for reasons of child abuse and neglect, abandonment, child in
				  need of services, parental request for relief of custody, noncustodial
				  agreement, entrustment, or any other court-ordered removal.
"Service worker" means a worker responsible for case
				  management or service coordination for prevention, foster care, or adoption
				  cases.
"Sibling" means each of two or more children having one or
				  more parents in common.
"SSI" means Supplemental Security Income.
"State-Funded Kinship Subsidy" or "State-Funded Kinship
				  Guardianship Assistance Program" means a program that provides payments to
				  eligible individuals who have received custody of a relative child subject to a
				  State-Funded Kinship Subsidy agreement developed in accordance with §
				  63.2-1306 of the Code of Virginia.
"State pool funds" means the pooled state and local funds
				  administered by CSA and used to pay for services authorized by the CPMT.
"Step-parent adoption" means the adoption of a child by a
				  spouse or the adoption of a child by a former spouse of the birth or adoptive
				  parent in accordance with § 63.2-1201.1 of the Code of Virginia.
"Supervised independent living setting" means the residence
				  of a person 18 years of age or older who is participating in the Fostering
				  Futures program set forth in Article 2 (§ 63.2-917 et seq.) of Chapter 9
				  of the Code of Virginia where supervision includes a monthly visit with a
				  service worker or, when appropriate, contracted supervision. "Supervised
				  independent living setting" does not include residential facilities or group
				  homes.
"Title IV-E" means the title of the Social Security Act that
				  authorizes federal funds for foster care and adoption assistance.
"Virginia Birth Father Registry" means the established
				  confidential database designed to protect the rights of a putative father who
				  wants to be notified in the event of a proceeding related to termination of
				  parental rights or adoption for a child he may have fathered.
"Visitation and report" means the visits conducted pursuant
				  to § 63.2-1212 of the Code of Virginia and the written report of the
				  findings made in the course of the visitation. The report is filed in the
				  circuit court in accordance with § 63.2-1212 of the Code of
				  Virginia.
"Voluntary placement" means the placement of a child in
				  foster care with the agreement of the child's parent through a noncustodial
				  foster care or entrustment agreement.
"Wrap around services" means an individually designed set of
				  services and supports provided to a child and his family that includes
				  treatment services, personal support services or any other supports necessary
				  to achieve the desired outcome. Wrap around services are developed through a
				  team approach.
"Youth" means any child in foster care between 14 and 18
				  years of age or any person 18 to 21 years of age transitioning out of foster
				  care and receiving independent living services pursuant to § 63.2-905.1 of
				  the Code of Virginia. "Youth" may also mean an individual older than the age of
				  16 years who is the subject of an adoption assistance agreement or kinship
				  guardianship assistance agreement.
Statutory Authority: §§ 63.2-217 and 63.2-319 of
					 the Code of Virginia.