Virginia Law

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Allegation" means an accusation that a facility is operating without a license or receiving public funds for services it is not certified to provide.

"Allowable variance" means temporary or permanent waiver of compliance with a standard or portion of a standard, or permission to meet the intent of the standard by a method other than that specified in the standard, when the regulatory authority, in its sole discretion, determines (i) enforcement will create an undue hardship and (ii) resident care will not be adversely affected.

"Annual" means within 13 months of the previous event or occurrence.

"Applicable state regulation" means any regulation that the promulgating state agency determines applies to the facility. The term includes modules, standards, and other regulations promulgated by the Departments of Education; Health; Housing and Community Development; Social Services; or other state agencies.

"Applicant" means any individual; corporation; partnership; association; limited liability company; local government; state agency, including any department, institution, authority, instrumentality, board, or other administrative agency of the Commonwealth; or other legal or commercial entity that has applied for a license.

"Aversive stimuli" means physical forces (e.g., sound, electricity, heat, cold, light, water, or noise) or substances (e.g., hot pepper, pepper sauce, or pepper spray) measurable in duration and intensity that when applied to a resident, are noxious or painful to the individual, but in no case shall the term "aversive stimuli" include striking or hitting the individual with any part of the body or with an implement or pinching, pulling, or shaking the resident.

"Behavior support" means those principles and methods employed by a provider to help a child achieve positive behavior and to address and correct a child's inappropriate behavior in a constructive and safe manner in accordance with written policies and procedures governing program expectations, treatment goals, child and staff safety and security, and the child's service plan.

"Behavior support assessment" means identification of a resident's behavior triggers, successful intervention strategies, anger and anxiety management options for calming, techniques for self-management, and specific goals that address the targeted behaviors that lead to emergency safety interventions.

"Body cavity search" means any examination of a resident's rectal or vaginal cavities, except the performance of medical procedures by medical personnel.

"Case record" or "record" means up-to-date written or electronic information relating to one resident. This information includes social data, agreements, all correspondence relating to care of the resident, service plans with periodic revisions, aftercare plans and discharge summary, and any other data related to the resident.

"Child" means any person legally defined as a child under state law. The term includes residents and other children coming in contact with the resident or facility (e.g., visitors). When the term is used, the requirement applies to every child at the facility regardless of whether the child has been admitted to the facility for care (e.g., staff to child ratios apply to all children present even though some may not be residents).

"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.

"Children's residential facility" or "facility" means any facility, child-caring institution, or group home that is maintained for the purpose of receiving children separated from their parents or guardians for full-time care, maintenance, protection and guidance, or for the purpose of providing independent living services to persons between 18 and 21 years of age who are in the process of transitioning out of foster care. Children's residential facility shall not include:

1. A licensed or accredited educational institution whose pupils, in the ordinary course of events, return annually to the homes of their parents or guardians for not less than two months of summer vacation;

2. An establishment required to be licensed as a summer camp by § 35.1-18 of the Code of Virginia;

3. A licensed or accredited hospital legally maintained as such; and

4. Any facility licensed by the Department of Social Services as a child caring institution as of January 1, 1987, and that receives no public funds.

"Complaint" means an accusation against a licensed or certified facility regarding an alleged violation of standards or law.

"Contraband" means any item prohibited by law or by the rules and regulations of the agency, or any item that conflicts with the program or safety and security of the facility or individual residents.

"Corporal punishment" means punishment administered through the intentional inflicting of pain or discomfort to the body through actions such as, but not limited to (i) striking or hitting with any part of the body or with an implement; (ii) pinching, pulling, or shaking; or (iii) any similar action that normally inflicts pain or discomfort.

"Corrective action plan" means violations documented by the department and the facility's submitted pledged corrective action to the documented violations cited by the regulatory authority.

"Day" means calendar day unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

"Department" means the State Department of Social Services.

"Electronic record" means a record created, generated, sent, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means.

"Emergency" means a sudden, generally unexpected occurrence or set of circumstances demanding immediate action. Emergency does not include regularly scheduled time off for permanent staff or other situations that should reasonably be anticipated.

"Emergency admission" means the sudden, unplanned, unexpected admittance of a child who needs immediate care except self-admittance to a temporary emergency shelter facility or a court-ordered placement.

"Goal" means expected results or conditions that usually involve a long period of time and that are written in behavioral terms in a statement of relatively broad scope. Goals provide guidance in establishing specific short-term objectives directed toward the attainment of the goal.

"Good character and reputation" means findings have been established and knowledgeable and objective people agree that the individual maintains business or professional, family, and community relationships that are characterized by honesty, fairness, truthfulness, and dependability, and has a history or pattern of behavior that demonstrates that the individual is suitable and able to care for, supervise, and protect children. Relatives by blood or marriage, and persons who are not knowledgeable of the individual, such as recent acquaintances, shall not be considered objective references.

"Group home" means a children's residential facility that is a community-based, home-like single dwelling, or its acceptable equivalent, other than the private home of the operator, and serves up to 12 residents.

"Health record" means the file maintained by a provider that contains personal health information.

"Human research" means any systematic investigation including research development, testing, and evaluation, utilizing human subjects, that is designed to develop or contribute to generalized knowledge. Human research shall not include research exempt from federal research regulations pursuant to 45 CFR 46.101(b).

"Immediately" means directly without delay.

"Independent living program" means a competency-based program that is specifically approved by the department to provide the opportunity for the residents to develop the skills necessary to live successfully on their own following completion of the program.

"Independent living services" means those services and activities designed to assist in self-sufficiency preparation of children aged 14 and older or individuals who have turned 18 but not yet turned 21 years old. Such services shall include counseling, education, housing, employment, and money management, skills development, and access to essential documents and other appropriate services.

"Individualized service plan" means a written plan of action developed, and modified at intervals, to meet the needs of a specific resident. It specifies measurable short-term and long-term goals, objectives, strategies and timeframes for reaching the goals, and the individuals responsible for carrying out the plan.

"Legal guardian" means the natural or adoptive parents or other person, agency, or institution that has legal custody of a child.

"License" means a document verifying approval to operate a children's residential facility and that indicates the status of the facility regarding compliance with applicable state regulations.

"Live-in staff" means staff who are required to be on duty for a period of 24 consecutive hours or more during each work week.

"Living unit" means the space in which a particular group of children in care of a residential facility reside. A living unit contains sleeping areas, bath and toilet facilities, and a living room or its equivalent for use by the residents of the unit. Depending upon its design, a building may contain one living unit or several separate living units.

"Mechanical restraint" means the use of an approved mechanical device that involuntarily restricts the freedom of movement or voluntary functioning of a limb or portion of a person's body as a means to control his physical activities when the individual receiving services does not have the ability to remove the device.

"Medication error" means an error made in administering a medication to a resident, including the following: (i) the wrong medication is given to a resident; (ii) the wrong resident is given the medication; (iii) the wrong dosage is given to a resident; (iv) medication is given to a resident at the wrong time or not at all; and (v) the proper method is not used to give the medication to a resident. A medication error does not include a resident's refusal of offered medication.

"Objective" means expected short-term results or conditions that must be met in order to attain a goal. Objectives are stated in measurable, behavioral terms and have a specified time for achievement.

"On duty" means that period of time during which a staff person is responsible for the supervision of one or more children.

"Parent" means a natural or adoptive parent. "Parent" means either parent unless the facility has been provided documentation that there is a legally binding instrument, a state law or a court order governing such matters as divorce, separation, or custody, that provides to the contrary.

"Pat down" means a thorough external body search of a clothed resident.

"Personal health information" means the information that encompasses the universe of oral, written or otherwise recorded information that is created or received by an entity relating to either an individual's physical or mental health or the provision of or payment for health care to an individual.

"Pharmacological restraint" means the use of a medication that is administered involuntarily for the emergency control of an individual's behavior when the individual's behavior places him or others at imminent risk and the administered medication is not a standard treatment for the individual's medical or psychiatric condition.

"Physical restraint" (also referred to as a "manual hold") means use of a physical intervention or "hands-on" hold to prevent an individual from moving his body when that individual's behavior places him or others at imminent risk.

"Placement" means an activity by any person that provides assistance to a parent or legal guardian in locating and effecting the movement of a child to a foster home, adoptive home, or children's residential facility.

"Premises" means the tracts of land on which any part of a residential facility for children is located and any buildings on such tracts of land.

"Provider" or "licensee" or "sponsor" means the individual; corporation; partnership; association; limited liability company; local government; state agency, including any department, institution, authority, instrumentality, board, or other administrative agency of the Commonwealth; or other legal or commercial entity to whom a license is issued and who is legally responsible for compliance with the regulatory and statutory requirements relating to the facility.

"Resident" means a person admitted to a children's residential facility for supervision, care, or training on a 24-hour per day basis.

"Rest day" means a period of not less than 24 consecutive hours during which a staff person has no responsibility to perform duties related to the facility.

"Routine admission" means the admittance of a child following evaluation of an application for admission and execution of a written placement agreement.

"Rules of conduct" means a listing of a facility's rules or regulations that is maintained to inform residents and others about behaviors that are not permitted and the consequences applied when the behaviors occur.

"Sanitizing agent" means any substance approved by the Environmental Protection Agency to destroy bacteria.

"Seclusion" means the involuntary placement of an individual alone in an area secured by a door that is locked or held shut by a staff person by physically blocking the door or by any other physical or verbal means so that the individual cannot leave it.

"Self-admission" means the admittance of a child who seeks admission to a temporary emergency shelter facility as permitted by Virginia statutory law without completing the requirements for "routine admission."

"Severe weather" means extreme environment or climate conditions that pose a threat to the health, safety, or welfare of residents.

"Standard" means a statement that describes in measurable terms a required minimum performance level. The term "standard" and the term "regulation" may be used interchangeably.

"Strategies" means a series of steps and methods used to meet goals and objectives.

"Strip search" means a visual inspection of the body of a resident when that resident's outer clothing or total clothing is removed and an inspection of the removed clothing. Strip searches are conducted for the detection of contraband.

"Structured program of care" means a comprehensive planned daily routine, including appropriate supervision that meets the needs of each resident both individually and as a group.

"Student/intern" means an individual who simultaneously is affiliated with an educational institution and a residential facility. Every student/intern who is not an employee is either a volunteer or contractual service provider depending upon the relationship among the student/intern, educational institution, and facility.

"Substantial compliance" means that while there may be noncompliance with one or more standards that represents minimal risk, compliance clearly and obviously exists with most of the standards as a whole.

"Target population" means individuals with a similar, specified characteristic or disability.

"Temporary contract worker" means an individual who is not a direct salaried employee of the provider but is employed by a third party and is not a consistently scheduled staff member.

"Temporary emergency shelter facility" means an emergency shelter specifically approved to provide a range of services, as needed, on an individual basis not to exceed 90 days, except that this term does not include secure detention facilities.

"Therapy" means provision of direct diagnostic, preventive and treatment services where functioning is threatened or affected by social and psychological stress or health impairment.

"Time out" means the involuntary removal of a resident by a staff person from a source of reinforcement to a different open location for a specified period of time or until the problem behavior has subsided to discontinue or reduce the frequency of problematic behavior.

"Volunteers" means any individual or group who of their own free will, and without any financial gain, provides goods and services to the program without compensation.

"Wilderness program" means a facility specifically approved to provide a primitive camping program with a nonpunitive environment and an experience curriculum for residents nine years of age and older who cannot presently function in home, school, or community. In lieu of or in addition to dormitories, cabins or barracks for housing residents, primitive campsites are used to integrate learning, mentoring, and group process with real living needs and problems for which the resident can develop a sense of social responsibility and self worth.