42 USC 629a – Definitions
(a) In general
As used in this subpart:
(1) Family preservation services
The term “family preservation services” means services for children and families designed to help families (including adoptive and extended families) at risk or in crisis, including—
(A) service programs designed to help children—
(i) where safe and appropriate, return to families from which they have been removed; or
(ii) be placed for adoption, with a legal guardian, or, if adoption or legal guardianship is determined not to be safe and appropriate for a child, in some other planned, permanent living arrangement;
(B) preplacement preventive services programs, such as intensive family preservation programs, designed to help children at risk of foster care placement remain safely with their families;
(C) service programs designed to provide followup care to families to whom a child has been returned after a foster care placement;
(D) respite care of children to provide temporary relief for parents and other caregivers (including foster parents);
(E) services designed to improve parenting skills (by reinforcing parents’ confidence in their strengths, and helping them to identify where improvement is needed and to obtain assistance in improving those skills) with respect to matters such as child development, family budgeting, coping with stress, health, and nutrition; and
(F) infant safe haven programs to provide a way for a parent to safely relinquish a newborn infant at a safe haven designated pursuant to a State law.
(2) Family support services
(A) In general
The term “family support services” means community-based services designed to carry out the purposes described in subparagraph (B).
(B) Purposes described
The purposes described in this subparagraph are the following:
(i) To promote the safety and well-being of children and families.
(ii) To increase the strength and stability of families (including adoptive, foster, and extended families).
(iii) To support and retain foster families so they can provide quality family-based settings for children in foster care.
(iv) To increase parents’ confidence and competence in their parenting abilities.
(v) To afford children a safe, stable, and supportive family environment.
(vi) To strengthen parental relationships and promote healthy marriages.
(vii) To enhance child development, including through mentoring (as defined in section 629i(b)(2) of this title).
(3) State agency
The term “State agency” means the State agency responsible for administering the program under subpart 1.
(4) State
The term “State” includes an Indian tribe or tribal organization, in addition to the meaning given such term for purposes of subpart 1.
(5) Indian tribe
The term “Indian tribe” has the meaning given the term in section 628(c) of this title.
(6) Tribal organization
The term “tribal organization” has the meaning given the term in section 628(c) of this title.
(7) Family reunification services
(A) In general
The term “family reunification services” means the services and activities described in subparagraph (B) that are provided to a child that is removed from the child’s home and placed in a foster family home or a child care institution or a child who has been returned home and to the parents or primary caregiver of such a child, in order to facilitate the reunification of the child safely and appropriately within a timely fashion and to ensure the strength and stability of the reunification. In the case of a child who has been returned home, the services and activities shall only be provided during the 15-month period that begins on the date that the child returns home.
(B) Services and activities described
The services and activities described in this subparagraph are the following:
(i) Individual, group, and family counseling.
(ii) Inpatient, residential, or outpatient substance abuse treatment services.
(iii) Mental health services.
(iv) Assistance to address domestic violence.
(v) Services designed to provide temporary child care and therapeutic services for families, including crisis nurseries.
(vi) Peer-to-peer mentoring and support groups for parents and primary caregivers.
(vii) Services and activities designed to facilitate access to and visitation of children by parents and siblings.
(viii) Transportation to or from any of the services and activities described in this subparagraph.
(8) Adoption promotion and support services
The term “adoption promotion and support services” means services and activities designed to encourage more adoptions out of the foster care system, when adoptions promote the best interests of children, including such activities as pre- and post-adoptive services and activities designed to expedite the adoption process and support adoptive families.
(9) Non-Federal funds
The term “non-Federal funds” means State funds, or at the option of a State, State and local funds.
(b) Other terms
For other definitions of other terms used in this subpart, see section 675 of this title.