16.1-228 - Definitions.
§ 16.1-228. Definitions.
When used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Abused or neglected child" means any child:
1. Whose parents or other person responsible for his care creates orinflicts, threatens to create or inflict, or allows to be created orinflicted upon such child a physical or mental injury by other thanaccidental means, or creates a substantial risk of death, disfigurement orimpairment of bodily or mental functions, including, but not limited to, achild who is with his parent or other person responsible for his care either(i) during the manufacture or attempted manufacture of a Schedule I or IIcontrolled substance, or (ii) during the unlawful sale of such substance bythat child's parents or other person responsible for his care, where suchmanufacture, or attempted manufacture or unlawful sale would constitute afelony violation of § 18.2-248;
2. Whose parents or other person responsible for his care neglects or refusesto provide care necessary for his health; however, no child who in good faithis under treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordancewith the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religiousdenomination shall for that reason alone be considered to be an abused orneglected child;
3. Whose parents or other person responsible for his care abandons such child;
4. Whose parents or other person responsible for his care commits or allowsto be committed any sexual act upon a child in violation of the law;
5. Who is without parental care or guardianship caused by the unreasonableabsence or the mental or physical incapacity of the child's parent, guardian,legal custodian, or other person standing in loco parentis; or
6. Whose parents or other person responsible for his care creates asubstantial risk of physical or mental injury by knowingly leaving the childalone in the same dwelling, including an apartment as defined in § 55-79.2,with a person to whom the child is not related by blood or marriage and whothe parent or other person responsible for his care knows has been convictedof an offense against a minor for which registration is required as a violentsexual offender pursuant to § 9.1-902.
If a civil proceeding under this chapter is based solely on the parent havingleft the child at a hospital or rescue squad, it shall be an affirmativedefense that such parent safely delivered the child to a hospital thatprovides 24-hour emergency services or to an attended rescue squad thatemploys emergency medical technicians, within 14 days of the child's birth.For purposes of terminating parental rights pursuant to § 16.1-283 andplacement for adoption, the court may find such a child is a neglected childupon the ground of abandonment.
"Adoptive home" means the place of residence of any natural person in whicha child resides as a member of the household and in which he has been placedfor the purposes of adoption or in which he has been legally adopted byanother member of the household.
"Adult" means a person 18 years of age or older.
"Ancillary crime" or "ancillary charge" means any delinquent actcommitted by a juvenile as a part of the same act or transaction as, or whichconstitutes a part of a common scheme or plan with, a delinquent act whichwould be a felony if committed by an adult.
"Boot camp" means a short term secure or nonsecure juvenile residentialfacility with highly structured components including, but not limited to,military style drill and ceremony, physical labor, education and rigiddiscipline, and no less than six months of intensive aftercare.
"Child," "juvenile," or "minor" means a person less than 18 years ofage.
"Child in need of services" means (i) a child whose behavior, conduct orcondition presents or results in a serious threat to the well-being andphysical safety of the child or (ii) a child under the age of 14 whosebehavior, conduct or condition presents or results in a serious threat to thewell-being and physical safety of another person; however, no child who ingood faith is under treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer inaccordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religiousdenomination shall for that reason alone be considered to be a child in needof services, nor shall any child who habitually remains away from orhabitually deserts or abandons his family as a result of what the court orthe local child protective services unit determines to be incidents ofphysical, emotional or sexual abuse in the home be considered a child in needof services for that reason alone.
However, to find that a child falls within these provisions, (i) the conductcomplained of must present a clear and substantial danger to the child's lifeor health or to the life or health of another person, (ii) the child or hisfamily is in need of treatment, rehabilitation or services not presentlybeing received, and (iii) the intervention of the court is essential toprovide the treatment, rehabilitation or services needed by the child or hisfamily.
"Child in need of supervision" means:
1. A child who, while subject to compulsory school attendance, is habituallyand without justification absent from school, and (i) the child has beenoffered an adequate opportunity to receive the benefit of any and alleducational services and programs that are required to be provided by law andwhich meet the child's particular educational needs, (ii) the school systemfrom which the child is absent or other appropriate agency has made areasonable effort to effect the child's regular attendance without success,and (iii) the school system has provided documentation that it has compliedwith the provisions of § 22.1-258; or
2. A child who, without reasonable cause and without the consent of hisparent, lawful custodian or placement authority, remains away from or desertsor abandons his family or lawful custodian on more than one occasion orescapes or remains away without proper authority from a residential carefacility in which he has been placed by the court, and (i) such conductpresents a clear and substantial danger to the child's life or health, (ii)the child or his family is in need of treatment, rehabilitation or servicesnot presently being received, and (iii) the intervention of the court isessential to provide the treatment, rehabilitation or services needed by thechild or his family.
"Child welfare agency" means a child-placing agency, child-caringinstitution or independent foster home as defined in § 63.2-100.
"The court" or the "juvenile court" or the "juvenile and domesticrelations court" means the juvenile and domestic relations district court ofeach county or city.
"Delinquent act" means (i) an act designated a crime under the law of thisCommonwealth, or an ordinance of any city, county, town or service district,or under federal law, (ii) a violation of § 18.2-308.7, or (iii) a violationof a court order as provided for in § 16.1-292, but shall not include an actother than a violation of § 18.2-308.7, which is otherwise lawful, but isdesignated a crime only if committed by a child. For purposes of §§ 16.1-241and 16.1-278.9, the term shall include a refusal to take a blood or breathtest in violation of § 18.2-268.2 or a similar ordinance of any county, cityor town.
"Delinquent child" means a child who has committed a delinquent act or anadult who has committed a delinquent act prior to his 18th birthday, exceptwhere the jurisdiction of the juvenile court has been terminated under theprovisions of § 16.1-269.6.
"Department" means the Department of Juvenile Justice and "Director"means the administrative head in charge thereof or such of his assistants andsubordinates as are designated by him to discharge the duties imposed uponhim under this law.
"Family abuse" means any act involving violence, force, or threatincluding, but not limited to, any forceful detention, which results inbodily injury or places one in reasonable apprehension of bodily injury andwhich is committed by a person against such person's family or householdmember.
"Family or household member" means (i) the person's spouse, whether or nothe or she resides in the same home with the person, (ii) the person's formerspouse, whether or not he or she resides in the same home with the person,(iii) the person's parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren, brothers,sisters, half-brothers, half-sisters, grandparents and grandchildren,regardless of whether such persons reside in the same home with the person,(iv) the person's mother-in-law, father-in-law, sons-in-law,daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law who reside in the samehome with the person, (v) any individual who has a child in common with theperson, whether or not the person and that individual have been married orhave resided together at any time, or (vi) any individual who cohabits orwho, within the previous 12 months, cohabited with the person, and anychildren of either of them then residing in the same home with the person.
"Foster care services" means the provision of a full range of casework,treatment and community services for a planned period of time to a child whois abused or neglected as defined in § 63.2-100 or in need of services asdefined in this section and his family when the child (i) has been identifiedas needing services to prevent or eliminate the need for foster careplacement, (ii) has been placed through an agreement between the local boardof social services or a public agency designated by the community policy andmanagement team and the parents or guardians where legal custody remains withthe parents or guardians, (iii) has been committed or entrusted to a localboard of social services or child welfare agency, or (iv) has been placedunder the supervisory responsibility of the local board pursuant to §16.1-293.
"Independent living arrangement" means placement of a child at least 16years of age who is in the custody of a local board or licensed child-placingagency and has been placed by the local board or licensed child-placingagency in a living arrangement in which he does not have daily substituteparental supervision.
"Independent living services" means services and activities provided to achild in foster care 14 years of age or older and who has been committed orentrusted to a local board of social services, child welfare agency, orprivate child-placing agency. "Independent living services" may also meanservices and activities provided to a person who was in foster care on his18th birthday and has not yet reached the age of 21 years. Such servicesshall include counseling, education, housing, employment, and moneymanagement skills development and access to essential documents and otherappropriate services to help children or persons prepare for self-sufficiency.
"Intake officer" means a juvenile probation officer appointed as suchpursuant to the authority of this chapter.
"Jail" or "other facility designed for the detention of adults" means alocal or regional correctional facility as defined in § 53.1-1, except thosefacilities utilized on a temporary basis as a court holding cell for a childincident to a court hearing or as a temporary lock-up room or ward incidentto the transfer of a child to a juvenile facility.
"The judge" means the judge or the substitute judge of the juvenile anddomestic relations district court of each county or city.
"This law" or "the law" means the Juvenile and Domestic RelationsDistrict Court Law embraced in this chapter.
"Legal custody" means (i) a legal status created by court order which vestsin a custodian the right to have physical custody of the child, to determineand redetermine where and with whom he shall live, the right and duty toprotect, train and discipline him and to provide him with food, shelter,education and ordinary medical care, all subject to any residual parentalrights and responsibilities or (ii) the legal status created by court orderof joint custody as defined in § 20-107.2.
"Permanent foster care placement" means the place of residence in which achild resides and in which he has been placed pursuant to the provisions of§§ 63.2-900 and 63.2-908 with the expectation and agreement between theplacing agency and the place of permanent foster care that the child shallremain in the placement until he reaches the age of majority unless modifiedby court order or unless removed pursuant to § 16.1-251 or 63.2-1517. Apermanent foster care placement may be a place of residence of any naturalperson or persons deemed appropriate to meet a child's needs on a long-termbasis.
"Residual parental rights and responsibilities" means all rights andresponsibilities remaining with the parent after the transfer of legalcustody or guardianship of the person, including but not limited to the rightof visitation, consent to adoption, the right to determine religiousaffiliation and the responsibility for support.
"Secure facility" or "detention home" means a local, regional or statepublic or private locked residential facility that has construction fixturesdesigned to prevent escape and to restrict the movement and activities ofchildren held in lawful custody.
"Shelter care" means the temporary care of children in physicallyunrestricting facilities.
"State Board" means the State Board of Juvenile Justice.
"Status offender" means a child who commits an act prohibited by law whichwould not be criminal if committed by an adult.
"Status offense" means an act prohibited by law which would not be anoffense if committed by an adult.
"Violent juvenile felony" means any of the delinquent acts enumerated insubsection B or C of § 16.1-269.1 when committed by a juvenile 14 years ofage or older.
(Code 1950, § 16.1-141; 1956, c. 555; 1972, c. 708; 1973, c. 546; 1974, cc.44, 45; 1977, c. 559; 1978, c. 605; 1979, c. 15; 1981, c. 491; 1984, c. 631;1985, c. 260; 1986, cc. 281, 308; 1987, c. 632; 1988, c. 794; 1990, cc. 704,769, 842; 1991, c. 534; 1992, cc. 742, 830, 886; 1993, cc. 435, 467, 494;1994, cc. 859, 865, 949; 1996, cc. 755, 914; 1999, cc. 453, 665, 697, 721;2002, cc. 810, 818; 2003, cc. 538, 547, 835; 2004, cc. 245, 753; 2006, c.868; 2008, cc. 475, 483.)