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<regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".02" citation="COMAR 07.02.09.02" title_num="07" subtitle_num="02" chapter_num="09" heading="Definitions.">
  <paragraph num="A.">
    <text>In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.</text>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="B.">
    <text>Terms Defined.</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>“Abuse” means:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Child abuse as defined in Family Law Article, §5-701, Annotated Code of Maryland; or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Sexual abuse of a child as defined in Family Law Article, §5-701, Annotated Code of Maryland, whether or not a child sustains physical injuries.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>“Administration” means the Social Services Administration of the Department of Human Services.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>“Adoption” means the legal proceeding by which an individual becomes the child of an adoptive family and has all the legal rights and privileges to which a child born to that family would be entitled.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>“Case plan” has the meaning stated in COMAR 07.02.11</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(5)">
      <text>“Child” means an individual under age 18.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(6)">
      <text>“Child in care” means a child or young adult for whom the local department has responsibility for placement, care, custody, or guardianship.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(7)">
      <text>“Child in care’s family” means the child in care’s birth family, adoptive family, or legal guardians.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(8)">
      <text>“CPS” means the child protective services unit that responds to reports of suspected child abuse or neglect pursuant to Family Law Article §5-701 et. seq.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(9)">
      <text>“Day” means a calendar day unless otherwise specified.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(10)">
      <text>“Department” means the Department of Human Services.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(11)">
      <text>“Family” means the basic family unit consisting of one or more adults and children related by blood, marriage, adoption, legal guardianship, or domestic partnership as that term is defined in Health General Article, §6-101, Annotated Code of Maryland.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(12)">
      <text>“Household” means the location where the applicant or licensed kinship caregiver resides.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(13)">
      <text>“Household member” means an individual who lives in or is regularly present in a household.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(14)">
      <text>“Kin” means an individual who is related to the child through blood or marriage, adoption, tribal law or custom, or cultural custom or practice; or an individual who is unrelated to the child, but has a strong familial or significant bond with the child, or is a person identified by the child’s parent.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(15)">
      <text>“Kinship care” means continuous 24-hour care and supportive services provided for a child in care placed in the home of a kinship caregiver.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(16)">
      <text>“Kinship caregiver” means an individual who is at least 18 years old and with whom a child in care may be placed for temporary or long–term care; and</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Is related to a child in care through blood or marriage, adoption, tribal law or custom, or cultural custom or practice; and</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>If not related as in (a) of this subsection, has a strong familial or other significant bond to such child, or is a person identified by the child’s parent.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(17)">
      <text>“Kinship resource home” means the residence of an individual or individuals who are licensed as a kinship caregiver.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(18)">
      <text>“Licensed” means approved by a local department as a kinship caregiver and a resource for custody and guardianship or adoption of a child in care.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(19)">
      <text>“Local department” means a department of social services in a county, Baltimore City, or the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(20)">
      <text>“Local director” means the director of a local department.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(21)">
      <text>“Monthly care stipend” means financial support that a local department provides a kinship caregiver to assist them with caring for a child in care placed in the home.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(22)">
      <text>“Neglect” means child neglect as defined in Family Law Article, §5-701, Annotated Code of Maryland.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(23)">
      <text>“Out-of-home care” means out-of-home placement and the monitoring of and services provided to a child in aftercare following a child’s out-of-home placement.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(24)">
      <text>“Out-of-home placement” means a living arrangement for a child in care, including foster care, kinship care, group care, or residential treatment care.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(25)">
      <text>“Parent” means the legal mother or father of a child or young adult whose rights have not been terminated or a legal guardian other than a local department.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(26)">
      <text>“Permanency plan” means a plan specifying where and with whom a child in care will live and the proposed legal relationship between the child in care and the temporary or permanent caregivers.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(27)">
      <text>“Regularly present in the household” means visiting or staying in a home with sufficient frequency to make an individual a significant part of the household.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(30)">
      <text>“Secondhand smoke” means a complex mixture of gasses and particles that includes:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Sidestream smoke, that is, smoke from a burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe; and</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Exhaled mainstream smoke.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(31)">
      <text>“Worker” means a local department staff person assigned to work with and support a kinship caregiver or a child in care.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(32)">
      <text>“Young adult” means an individual 18 years old or older but not yet 21.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
</regulation>