Terms Used In South Carolina Code > Title 44 > Chapter 24 - Commitment of Children in Need of Mental Health Treatment

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• 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.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Child: means a person under the age of eighteen years. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Child in need of judicial admission: means a child who is in need of treatment and for whom treatment can be obtained only through an involuntary judicial admission. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Child in need of treatment: means a child in need of mental health treatment who manifests a substantial disorder of cognitive or emotional processes, which lessens or impairs to a marked degree that child's capacity either to develop or to exercise age appropriate or age adequate behavior. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• 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 the probate court unless otherwise specified. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Crisis stabilization: means a short term placement to enable a child who has lost control to regain control in order to be returned to his previous placement or to an appropriate treatment facility or program. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Department: means the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation;
  
  (5) "Director" means the Director of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation or the director's official designee;
  
  (6) "Licensee" means a person granted an authorization to practice pursuant to this article and refers to a person holding a license, permit, certification, or registration granted pursuant to this article;
  
  (7) "Licensing act" means the individual statute or regulations, or both, of each regulated profession or occupation which include, but are not limited to, board governance, the qualifications and requirements for authorization to practice, prohibitions, and disciplinary procedures;
  
  (8) "Person" means an individual, partnership, or corporation;
  
  (9) "Profession" or "occupation" means a profession or occupation regulated or administered, or both, by the department pursuant to this article. See South Carolina Code 40-1-20
• Department: means the State Department of Mental Health. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Diagnostic evaluation: means the systematic appraisal of a child's functional level in various domains such as educational, social, and psychological to determine the nature and extent of treatment or services which may be required to meet the needs of the child. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• 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.
• In-home intervention: means comprehensive, individualized in-home family services which are designed to intervene at times when there is a possibility that the child will have to be removed from the home to a more restrictive environment or to prepare a family for a child's transition back into the home. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• 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.
• Law enforcement officer: means a state, county, or city police officer, officer of the South Carolina Highway Patrol, sheriff, or deputy sheriff. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Outpatient counseling: means a regularly scheduled goal-oriented intervention by a competent professional responsive to the needs of the child, for the purposes of assisting the child in solving problems related to educational, vocational, emotional, familial, and social issues through cognitive and affective modes. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• 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.
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Psychiatric assessment and evaluation: means a systematic appraisal, in accordance with generally accepted medical practices, for the following purposes: specialized psychiatric review of physiological phenomena, psychiatric diagnostic evaluation, psychiatric therapeutic evaluative services, and assessment of the appropriateness of initiating or continuing the use of psychotropic medications in treatment of a child. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Treatment team: means persons drawn from or representing the professional disciplines or service areas included in the development and implementation of a treatment plan. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10
• Twenty-four hour emergency assessment: means diagnostic evaluation capabilities when necessary to determine a child's clinical status and needs. See South Carolina Code 44-24-10