Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 290-2-5-.03 - Definitions
In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires, the words, phrases and symbols set forth herein shall mean the following:
(a) "Adult " means a person eighteen (18)
years of age or older. This term does not include an eighteen (18) year old who
is a resident of the Institution.
(b) "Applicant " means the following:
1. When the Institution is owned by a sole
proprietorship, the individual proprietor shall be the applicant for the
license , complete the statement of responsibility and serve as the
licensee;
2. When the Institution
is owned by a partnership, the general partners shall be the applicant for the
license , complete the statement of responsibility and serve as the
licensee;
3. When the Institution
is owned by an association, the governing body of the association shall
authorize the application for the license and complete the statement of
responsibility and the association shall serve as the licensee; and
4. When the Institution is owned by a
corporation, the governing body of the corporation shall authorize the
application for the license and complete the statement of responsibility and
the corporation shall serve as the licensee.
(c) "Behavior management " means those
principles and techniques used by a facility to assist a resident in
facilitating self-control, addressing inappropriate behavior, and achieving
positive outcomes in a constructive and safe manner. Behavior management
principles and techniques shall be used in accordance with the individual
service plan, written policies and procedures governing service expectations,
service plan goals, safety, security, and these rules and
regulations.
(d) "Chemical
restraint " means medications that are administered to manage a resident 's
behavior in a way that reduces the safety risk to the resident or others; that
have the temporary effect of restricting the resident 's freedom of movement;
and that are not being used as part of a standard regimen, as specified in the
child 's service plan, to treat current symptoms of a medical or psychiatric
condition.
(e) "Child care worker "
means the person employed by the Institution who is responsible for providing
direct care, supervision , and support to residents. This includes a child care
worker who resides in the living unit (s) with residents.
(f) "Child-caring institution " means a child
welfare agency that is any institution, society, agency, or facility, whether
incorporated or not, which either primarily or incidentally provides full-time
care for children through 18 years of age outside of their own homes, subject
to such exceptions as may be provided in rules and regulations of the Board of
Human Services. This full-time care is referred to as room, board and watchful
oversight . For purposes of these rules, a child-caring institution means any
institution, society, agency, or facility that provides such care to six or
more children. The term "child-caring institution " includes a qualified
residential treatment program and a commercial sexual exploitation recovery
center . The term "facility" or "institution" may be used interchangeably with
the term "child-caring institution " in these rules.
(g) "Child-placing agency " means any
institution, society, agency, or facility, whether incorporated or not, which
places children in foster homes for temporary care or in prospective adoptive
homes for adoption. For purposes of this definition, agencies that engage in
placement activities are required to be licensed as Child -Placing Agencies.
This term does not apply to a licensed professional providing only home study
preparation services as an evaluator.
(h) "Commercial sexual exploitation recovery
center " means a child-caring institution certified as a victim assistance
program, as provided for in subsection (e) of Code Section
15-21-132, which provides
full-time residential care and support services to youth through 18 years of
age who are victims of sexual exploitation as defined in Code Section
49-5-40.
(i) "Commissioner " means the Commissioner of
the Department of Human Services.
(j) "Criminal history background check " means
a search as required by law of the criminal records maintained by law
enforcement authorities to determine whether the applicant has a criminal
record as defined in these rules.
(k) "Criminal Justice Coordinating Council "
means an executive branch agency that is a statewide body established to build
consensus and unity among the State's diverse and interdependent criminal
justice system components as defined in Code Section
35-6a-1
et
seq.
(l) "Criminal record "
means:
1. Conviction of a crime; or
2. Arrest, charge, and sentencing for a crime
where:
(i) A plea of nolo contendere was
entered to the charge; or
(ii)
First offender treatment without adjudication of guilt pursuant to the charge
was granted; or
(iii) Adjudication
or sentence was otherwise withheld or not entered on the charge; or
3. Arrest and being charged for a
crime if the charge is pending, unless the time for prosecuting such crime has
expired pursuant to O.C.G.A. Section
17-3-1et
seq.
(m)
"Department " means the Georgia Department of Human Services.
(n) "Director " means the chief administrative
or executive officer of the Institution.
(o) "Emergency safety interventions " mean
those behavioral intervention techniques that are authorized under an approved
emergency safety intervention plan and are utilized by properly trained staff
in an urgent situation to prevent a child from doing immediate harm to self or
others.
(p) "Emergency safety
intervention plan " means the plan developed by the facility utilizing a
nationally recognized, evidence-based, training program for emergency safety
intervention, approved by the Department . The plan shall clearly identify the
emergency safety interventions staff may utilize and those that may never be
used.
(q) "Employee " means any
person , other than a director , employed by an Institution to perform any duties
at any of the Institution's facilities which involve personal contact between
that person and any child being cared for at the Institution and also includes
any adult person who resides at the Institution or who, with or without
compensation, performs duties for the Institution which involve personal
contact between that person and any child cared for by the Institution. For
purposes of these rules, the term "employee " does not include a resident of the
Institution.
(r) "Fictive kin "
means a person who is not related to a child by blood, marriage, or adoption
but who prior to the child 's placement in foster care is known to the child 's
family , has a substantial and positive relationship with the child , and is
willing and able to provide a suitable home for the child .
(s) "Fingerprint records check determination "
means a satisfactory or unsatisfactory determination by the Department based
upon a records check comparison of Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC)
information with fingerprints and other information in a records check
application .
(t) "Foster Care "
means supervised care in a substitute home on a 24 hour full-time basis for a
temporary period of time.
(u)
"Human services professional " means the person (s) employed by the facility who
is responsible for providing oversight of services to children and their
families in the home setting. The human services professional is responsible
for monitoring the residents' needs and ensuring that appropriate services are
being provided and arranged for in order to meet those needs. Duties include,
but are not limited to: the coordination of the facility's admission
evaluation; the development of the service and Room, Board , Watchful Oversight
plans; case work services as provided in the resident 's service plans; and
monitoring of the resident 's educational and/or vocational needs.
(v) "Living unit " means the physical location
where residents live within the Institution.
(w) "Manual hold " means the application of
physical force, without the use of any device, for the purpose of restricting
the free movement of a child 's body and is considered a form of restraint. A
manual hold does not include briefly holding a child without undue force to
calm or comfort the child , holding a child by the hand or by the shoulders or
back to walk the child safely from one area to another where the child is not
forcefully resisting the assistance, or assisting the child in voluntarily
participating in activities of daily living.
(x) "Mechanical restraint " means a device
attached or adjacent to the child 's body that is not a prescribed and approved
medical protection device and that he or she cannot easily remove that
restricts freedom of movement or normal access to his or her body. A mechanical
restraint does not include devices used to assist a child with appropriate
positioning or posture secondary to physical impairments or
disabilities.
(y) "Medicaid
Rehabilitation Option Provider (MRO) " means that category of behavioral health
services designed for the maximum reduction of impairments related to mental
illness or addiction and restoration of a Medicaid recipient to his/her best
possible functional level.
(z)
"Owner " means any individual or any person affiliated with a corporation,
partnership, or association with 10 percent or greater ownership interest in
the business or facility licensed as a child-caring institution and who:
1. Purports to or exercises authority of the
owner in a child-caring institution ;
2. Applies to operate or operates a
child-caring institution ;
3. Enters
into a contract to acquire ownership of a child-caring institution .
(aa) "Preliminary records check
application " means an application for a preliminary records check determination
on forms provided by the Department .
(bb) "Preliminary records check
determination " means a satisfactory or unsatisfactory determination by the
Department based only upon a comparison of Georgia Crime Information Center
(GCIC) information with other than fingerprint information regarding the person
upon whom the records check is being performed.
(cc) "Qualified individual " means a trained
professional or licensed clinician designated by the Division of Family and
Children Services to complete an assessment, which will assist in determining
the resident 's appropriate level of care.
(dd) "Qualified residential treatment
program " means a program that is licensed as a child-caring institution in
accordance with 42 U.S.C.
Section 671(a)(10) that:
1. Has a trauma-informed treatment model that
is designed to address the needs, including clinical needs as appropriate, of
children with serious emotional or behavioral disorders or disturbances and,
with respect to a child , is able to implement the treatment identified for the
child by the assessment to determine appropriateness of placement as provided
for in Code Section
15-11-219;
2. Has registered or licensed nursing staff
and other licensed clinical staff who:
(i)
Provide care within the scope of their practice;
(ii) Are onsite in accordance with the
treatment model referred to in paragraph 1 of this rule ; and
(iii) Are available 24 hours a day and seven
days a week;
3. To the
extent appropriate, in accordance with the child 's best interests, facilitates
participation of family members in the child 's treatment program;
4. Facilitates outreach to the family members
of the child , including siblings, documents how the outreach is made, including
contact information, and maintains contact information for any known biological
family and fictive kin of the child ;
5. Documents how family members are
integrated into the treatment process for the child , including post-discharge,
and how sibling connections are maintained;
6. Provides discharge planning and
family -based aftercare support for at least six months post-discharge;
and
7. Is accredited in accordance
with 42 U.S.C. Section
672(k)(4)(G).
(ee) "Reasonable and prudent
parenting " 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 a caregiver shall use when determining whether to allow a child in
foster care under the responsibility of the State to participate in
extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities.
(ff) "Records " mean the individual files in
any format established and maintained by a child-caring institution which
include data concerning an employee , director , child , or applicant .
(gg) "Records check application " means two
sets of classifiable fingerprints, a records search fee to be established by
the Department by rule and regulation, payable in such form as the Department
may direct to cover the cost of a fingerprint records check, and an affidavit
by the applicant disclosing the nature and date of any arrest, charge, or
conviction of the applicant for the violation of any law; except for motor
vehicle parking violations, whether or not the violation occurred in this
state, and such additional information as the Department may require.
(hh) "Resident " means a person who receives
full-time care and services at the Institution in accordance with these rules
and regulations. This term shall be used interchangeably with the term "child ."
(ii) "Room, board and watchful
oversight " means providing safe lodging, adequately nutritious meals, and
continuous care and oversight to ensure a child 's basic needs are
met.
(jj) "Satisfactory criminal
history background check determination " means a written determination that a
person for whom a records check was performed was found to have no criminal
record .
(kk) "Seclusion " means the
involuntary confinement of a child away from other children, due to imminent
risk of harm to self or others, in a room or an area from which the child is
physically prevented from leaving.
(ll) "Serious occurrence " means an occurrence
that has or may have dangerous or significant consequences relating to the
care, supervision , or treatment of a child .
(mm) "Supervision " means the continued
responsibility of the Institution to take reasonable action to provide for the
health, safety, and well-being of a resident while under the supervision of a
director , employees, contractors, and volunteers of the Institution, including
protection from physical, emotional, social, moral, financial harm and personal
exploitation while in care. The Institution is responsible for providing the
degree of supervision indicated by a child 's age, developmental level,
physical, emotional, and social needs.
(nn) "Time-out " means a behavior management
technique that involves the brief separation of a child from a group or setting
where a child is experiencing some behavioral or emotional distress, not to
exceed twenty (20) minutes, designed to de-escalate the emotionally charged
condition of the child . During "time-out " a child 's freedom of movement is not
physically restricted.
(oo)
"Trauma-informed treatment " means a treatment model designed to address the
identified needs, including clinical needs as appropriate, of a resident with
serious emotional or behavior disorders or disturbances and is able to
implement the treatment identified for the resident by the assessment completed
by the qualified individual .
(pp)
"Unsatisfactory criminal history background check determination " means a
written determination that a person for whom a records check was performed has
a criminal record .
(qq) "Variance "
means a decision by the Department to grant a modification to all or part of
the literal requirements of a rule .
(rr) "Waiver " means a decision by the
Department not to apply all or part of a rule .
(ss) The singular includes the plural, the
plural the singular , and the masculine the feminine, when consistent with the
intent of these Rules.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires, the words, phrases and symbols set forth herein shall mean the following:
(a) "Adult" means a person eighteen (18) years of age or older.
(b) "Applicant" means the following:
1. When the institution is owned by a sole proprietorship, the individual proprietor shall be the applicant for the license, complete the statement of responsibility and serve as the licensee;
2. When the institution is owned by a partnership, the general partners shall be the applicant for the license, complete the statement of responsibility and serve as the licensee;
3. When the institution is owned by an association, the governing body of the association shall authorize the application for the license and complete the statement of responsibility and the association shall serve as the licensee; and
4. When the institution is owned by a corporation, the governing body of the corporation shall authorize the application for the license and complete the statement of responsibility and the corporation shall serve as the licensee.
(c) "Behavior management" means those principles and techniques used by a facility to assist a resident in facilitating self-control, addressing inappropriate behavior, and achieving positive outcomes in a constructive and safe manner. Behavior management principles and techniques shall be used in accordance with the individual service plan, written policies and procedures governing service expectations, service plan goals, safety, security, and these rules and regulations.
(d) "Chemical restraint" means drugs that are administered to manage a resident's behavior in a way that reduces the safety risk to the resident or others; that have the temporary effect of restricting the resident's freedom of movement; and that are not being used as part of a standard regimen, as specified in the child's service plan, to treat current symptoms of a medical or psychiatric condition.
(e) "Child caring institution" means a child-welfare agency that is any institution, society, agency, or facility, whether incorporated or not, which either primarily or incidentally provides full-time care for children through 18 years of age outside of their own homes, subject to such exceptions as may be provided in rules and regulations of the Board of Human Services. This full-time care is referred to as room, board and watchful oversight. For purposes of these rules, a child caring institution means any institution, society, agency, or facility that provides such care to six or more children.
(f) "Child-placing agency" means a child welfare agency that is any institution, society, agency, or facility, whether incorporated or not, that places children in foster homes for temporary care or in prospective adoptive homes for adoption. For purposes of this definition, agencies that engage in placement activities are required to be licensed as Child-Placing Agencies. This term does not apply to a licensed professional providing only home study preparation services as an evaluator.
(g) "Criminal history background check" means a search as required by law of the criminal records maintained by law enforcement authorities to determine whether the applicant has a criminal record as defined in these rules.
(h) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of Human Services.
(i) "Criminal record" means:
1. Conviction of a crime; or
2. Arrest, charge, and sentencing for a crime where:
(i) A plea of nolo contendere was entered to the charge; or
(ii) First offender treatment without adjudication of guilt pursuant to the charge was granted; or
(iii) Adjudication or sentence was otherwise withheld or not entered on the charge; or
(iv) Arrest and being charged for a crime if the charge is pending, unless the time for prosecuting such crime has expired pursuant to O.C.G.A. Sec. 17-3-1et seq.
(j) "Department" means the Georgia Department of Human Services.
(k) "Director" means the chief administrative or executive officer of the institution.
(l) "Emergency safety interventions" mean those behavioral intervention techniques that are authorized under an approved emergency safety intervention plan and are utilized by properly trained staff in an urgent situation to prevent a child from doing immediate harm to self or others.
(m) "Emergency safety intervention plan" means the plan developed by the facility utilizing a nationally recognized, evidence-based, training program for emergency safety intervention, approved by the Department. The plan shall clearly identify the emergency safety interventions staff may utilize and those that may never be used.
(n) "Employee" means any person, other than a director, employed by an institution to perform any duties at any of the institution's facilities which involve personal contact between that person and any child being cared for at the institution and also includes any adult person who resides at the institution or who, with or without compensation, performs duties for the institution which involve personal contact between that person and any child cared for by the institution.
For purposes of these rules, an employee does not mean a child that resides at the facility and performs duties for the institution.
(o) "Fingerprint records check determination" means a satisfactory or unsatisfactory determination by the department based upon a records check comparison of Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) information with fingerprints and other information in a records check application.
(p) "Foster Care" means supervised care in a substitute home on a 24 hour full-time basis for a temporary period of time.
(q) "Foster Home" or "foster care home" means a private home where the foster parent(s) live which has been approved by a child-placing agency to provide 24 hour care, lodging, supervision and maintenance for no more than six children under the age of 19.
(r) "Foster Parent" means an adult person approved by a child-placing agency who has a satisfactory criminal history background check determination and provides care, lodging, supervision, and maintenance on a 24 hour basis for a child who must receive care out of his own home.
(s) "Human Services Professional" means the person(s) employed by the facility who is (are) responsible for providing oversight of services to children and their families in the home setting. The HSP is responsible for monitoring the residents' needs and ensuring that appropriate services are being provided and arranged for in order to meet those needs. Duties include, but are not limited to: the coordination of the facility's admission evaluation; the development of the service and Room, Board, Watchful Oversight plans; case work services as provided in the resident's service plans; and monitoring of the resident's educational and/or vocational needs.
(t) "Living unit" means the physical location where residents live within the institution.
(u) "Manual hold" means the application of physical force, without the use of any device, for the purpose of restricting the free movement of a child's body and is considered a form of restraint. A manual hold does not include briefly holding a child without undue force to calm or comfort the child, holding a child by the hand or by the shoulders or back to walk the child safely from one area to another where the child is not forcefully resisting the assistance, or assisting the child in voluntarily participating in activities of daily living.
(v) "Mechanical restraint" means a device attached or adjacent to the child's body that is not a prescribed and approved medical protection device and that he or she cannot easily remove that restricts freedom of movement or normal access to his or her body. A mechanical restraint does not include devices used to assist a child with appropriate positioning or posture secondary to physical impairments or disabilities.
(w) "Medicaid Rehabilitation Option Provider (MRO)" means that category of behavioral health services designed for the maximum reduction of impairments related to mental illness or addiction and restoration of a Medicaid recipient to his/her best possible functional level.
(x) "Owner" means any individual or any person affiliated with a corporation, partnership, or association with 10 percent or greater ownership interest in the business or agency licensed as a child caring institution and who:
1. Purports to or exercises authority of the owner in a caring institution;
2. Applies to operate or operates a child caring institution;
3. Enters into a contract to acquire ownership of a child caring institution.
(y) "Preliminary records check application" means an application for a preliminary records check determination on forms provided by the department.
(z) "Preliminary records check determination" means a satisfactory or unsatisfactory determination by the department based only upon a comparison of Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) information with other than fingerprint information regarding the person upon whom the records check is being performed.
(aa) "Records check application" means two sets of classifiable fingerprints, a records search fee to be established by the department by rule and regulation, payable in such form as the department may direct to cover the cost of a fingerprint records check, and an affidavit by the applicant disclosing the nature and date of any arrest, charge, or conviction of the applicant for the violation of any law; except for motor vehicle parking violations, whether or not the violation occurred in this state, and such additional information as the department may require.
(bb) "Room, Board and Watchful Oversight" means providing a safe, comfortable room, adequately nutritious meals and oversight to ensure a child's basic safety needs are met.
(cc) "Satisfactory criminal history background check determination" means a written determination that a person for whom a records check was performed was found to have no criminal record.
(dd) "Seclusion" means the involuntary confinement of a child away from other children, due to imminent risk of harm to self or others, in a room or an area from which the child is physically prevented from leaving.
(ee) "Supervision" means the continued responsibility of the licensee to take reasonable action to provide for the health, safety, and well-being of a resident while under the supervision of the licensee or the agent or employee of the licensee, including protection from physical, emotional, social, moral, financial harm and personal exploitation while in care. The licensee is responsible for providing the degree of supervision indicated by a child's age, developmental level, physical, emotional, and social needs.
(ff) "Time-out" means a behavior management technique that involves the brief separation of a child from the group, not to exceed twenty (20) minutes, designed to de-escalate the child. During "time-out" a child's freedom of movement is not physically restricted.
(gg) "Unsatisfactory criminal history background check determination" means a written determination that a person for whom a records check was performed has a criminal record.
(hh) "Variance" means a decision by the department to grant a modification to all or part of the literal requirements of a rule.
(ii) "Waiver" means a decision by the department not to apply all or part of a rule.