Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes > Chapter 403 - 911 Emergency and Public Safety Communications

• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Adult: means an individual 18 years of age or older. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Agency: means the responsible social services agency or a licensed child-placing agency. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Case plan: means any plan for the delivery of services to a child and parent or guardian, or, when reunification is not required, the child alone, that is developed according to the requirements of section 245. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Chair: includes chairman, chairwoman, and chairperson. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Child: means an individual under 18 years of age. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Child: means an individual under 18 years of age and includes any minor alleged to have been delinquent or a juvenile traffic offender prior to having become 18 years of age. See Minnesota Statutes 260B.007
• Child abuse: means an act that involves a minor victim that constitutes a violation of section 609. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Child in need of protection or services: means a child who is in need of protection or services because the child:

  (1) is abandoned or without parent, guardian, or custodian;

  (2)(i) has been a victim of physical or sexual abuse as defined in section 260E. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007

• Child-placing agency: means anyone licensed under sections 245A. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• children: includes children by birth or adoption;

  (9) "day" comprises the time from midnight to the next midnight;

  (10) "fiscal year" means the year by or for which accounts are reckoned;

  (11) "hereafter" means a reference to the time after the time when the law containing such word takes effect;

  (12) "heretofore" means a reference to the time previous to the time when the law containing such word takes effect;

  (13) "judicial sale" means a sale conducted by an officer or person authorized for the purpose by some competent tribunal;

  (14) "minor" means an individual under the age of 18 years;

  (15) "money" means lawful money of the United States;

  (16) "night time" means the time from sunset to sunrise;

  (17) "non compos mentis" refers to an individual of unsound mind;

  (18) "notary" means a notary public;

  (19) "now" in any provision of a law referring to other laws in force, or to persons in office, or to any facts or circumstances as existing, relates to the laws in force, or to the persons in office, or to the facts or circumstances existing, respectively, on the effective date of such provision;

  (20) "verified" when used in reference to writings, means supported by oath or affirmation. See Minnesota Statutes 645.45

• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Court: means juvenile court unless otherwise specified in this section. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Custodian: means any person who is under a legal obligation to provide care and support for a minor or who is in fact providing care and support for a minor. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Developmental disability: means developmental disability as defined in United States Code, title 42, § 6001(8). See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Domestic child abuse: means :

  (1) any physical injury to a minor family or household member inflicted by an adult family or household member other than by accidental means;

  (2) subjection of a minor family or household member by an adult family or household member to any act which constitutes a violation of sections 609. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007

• Egregious harm: means the infliction of bodily harm to a child or neglect of a child which demonstrates a grossly inadequate ability to provide minimally adequate parental care. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Emotional maltreatment: means the consistent, deliberate infliction of mental harm on a child by a person responsible for the child's care, that has an observable, sustained, and adverse effect on the child's physical, mental, or emotional development. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Family and permanency team: means a team consisting of the child's parent or legal custodian, relatives, foster care providers, and professionals who are resources to the child's family such as teachers, medical or mental health providers who have treated the child, or clergy, as appropriate. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Family foster home: means the home of an individual or family who is licensed for child foster care under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 245A, meeting the standards in Minnesota Rules, chapter 2960, excluding foster residence settings licensed under Minnesota Rules, parts Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Foster care: means 24-hour substitute care for a child for whom a responsible social services agency has placement and care responsibility and:

  (1) who is placed away from the child's parent or guardian in foster family homes, foster homes of relatives, group homes, emergency shelters, residential facilities not excluded in this subdivision, child care institutions, and preadoptive homes;

  (2) who is colocated with the child's parent or guardian in a licensed residential family-based substance use disorder treatment program as defined in subdivision 22a; or

  (3) who is returned to the care of the child's parent or guardian from whom the child was removed under a trial home visit pursuant to section 260C. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007

• Foster care: means 24-hour substitute care for children placed away from their parents or guardian and for whom a responsible social services agency has placement and care responsibility. See Minnesota Statutes 260B.007
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Habitual truant: means a child under the age of 17 years who is absent from attendance at school without lawful excuse for seven school days per school year if the child is in elementary school or for one or more class periods on seven school days per school year if the child is in middle school, junior high school, or high school or a child who is 17 years of age who is absent from attendance at school without lawful excuse for one or more class periods on seven school days per school year and who has not lawfully withdrawn from school under section 120A. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Legal custody: means the right to the care, custody, and control of a child who has been taken from a parent by the court in accordance with the provisions of section 260C. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Licensed residential family-based substance use disorder treatment program: means a residential treatment facility that provides the parent or guardian with parenting skills training, parent education, or individual and family counseling, under an organizational structure and treatment framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma according to recognized principles of a trauma-informed approach and trauma-specific interventions to address the consequences of trauma and facilitate healing. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Majority: means with respect to an individual the period of time after the individual reaches the age of 18. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Minor: means an individual under 18 years of age. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Minority: means with respect to an individual the period of time during which the individual is a minor. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed; and "year" is equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Parent: means a person who has a legal parent and child relationship with a child which confers or imposes on the person legal rights, privileges, duties, and obligations consistent with sections 257. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Permanency plan: means the established goal in the out-of-home placement plan that will achieve a safe, permanent home for the child. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Person: includes any individual, association, corporation, partnership, and the state or any of its political subdivisions, departments, or agencies. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Petty offense: A federal misdemeanor punishable by six months or less in prison. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Public debt: Cumulative amounts borrowed by the Treasury Department or the Federal Financing Bank from the public or from another fund or account. The public debt does not include agency debt (amounts borrowed by other agencies of the Federal Government). The total public debt is subject to a statutory limit.
• Qualified individual: means a trained culturally competent professional or licensed clinician, including a mental health professional under section 245. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Relative: means a person related to the child by blood, marriage, or adoption; the legal parent, guardian, or custodian of the child's siblings; or an individual who is an important friend of the child or of the child's parent or custodian, including an individual with whom the child has resided or had significant contact or who has a significant relationship to the child or the child's parent or custodian. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Residential treatment facility: means a 24-hour-a-day program that provides treatment for children with emotional disturbance, consistent with section 245. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Responsible social services agency: means the county social services agency that has responsibility for public child welfare and child protection services and includes the provision of adoption services as an agent of the commissioner of human services. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Runaway: means an unmarried child under the age of 18 years who is absent from the home of a parent or other lawful placement without the consent of the parent, guardian, or lawful custodian. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Sexually exploited youth: means an individual who:

  (1) is alleged to have engaged in conduct which would, if committed by an adult, violate any federal, state, or local law relating to being hired, offering to be hired, or agreeing to be hired by another individual to engage in sexual penetration or sexual conduct;

  (2) is a victim of a crime described in section 609. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007

• Sibling: means one of two or more individuals who have one or both parents in common through blood, marriage, or adoption. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007
• state: extends to and includes the District of Columbia and the several territories. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Tax: means any fee, charge, exaction, or assessment imposed by a governmental entity on an individual, person, entity, transaction, good, service, or other thing. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Violate: includes failure to comply with. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• withholding of medically indicated treatment: means the failure to respond to the infant's life-threatening conditions by providing treatment, including appropriate nutrition, hydration, and medication which, in the treating physician's, advanced practice registered nurse's, or physician assistant's reasonable medical judgment, will be most likely to be effective in ameliorating or correcting all conditions, except that the term does not include the failure to provide treatment other than appropriate nutrition, hydration, or medication to an infant when, in the treating physician's, advanced practice registered nurse's, or physician assistant's reasonable medical judgment:

  (i) the infant is chronically and irreversibly comatose;

  (ii) the provision of the treatment would merely prolong dying, not be effective in ameliorating or correcting all of the infant's life-threatening conditions, or otherwise be futile in terms of the survival of the infant; or

  (iii) the provision of the treatment would be virtually futile in terms of the survival of the infant and the treatment itself under the circumstances would be inhumane;

  (6) is one whose parent, guardian, or other custodian for good cause desires to be relieved of the child's care and custody, including a child who entered foster care under a voluntary placement agreement between the parent and the responsible social services agency under section 260C. See Minnesota Statutes 260C.007