Terms Used In South Carolina Code > Title 63 > Chapter 7 > Article 5 - Foster Care

• Age or developmentally appropriate: means :
  
  (a) activities or items that are generally accepted as suitable for children of the same chronological age or level of maturity or that are determined to be developmentally appropriate for a child, based on the development of cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities that are typical for an age or age group;
  
  (b) in the case of a specific child, activities or items that are suitable for the child based on the developmental stages attained by the child with respect to the cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities of the child; and
  
  (c) activities that include, but are not be limited to, the following:
  
  (i) sports;
  
  (ii) field trips;
  
  (iii) extracurricular activities;
  
  (iv) social activities;
  
  (v) after school programs or functions;
  
  (vi) vacations with caregiver lasting up to two weeks;
  
  (vii) overnight activities away from caregiver lasting up to one week;
  
  (viii) employment opportunities; and
  
  (ix) in-state or out-of-state travel, excluding overseas travel;
  
  (d) activities that do not conflict with any pending matters before the court, an existing court order, or the child's scheduled appointments for evaluations or treatment. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
• Caregiver: means a foster parent, kinship foster parent, or employee of a group home who is designated to make decisions regarding age or developmentally appropriate activities or experiences on behalf of a child in the custody of the department. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
• Child: means a person under the age of eighteen. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Court: means the family court. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
• Department: means the Department of Social Services. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
• Foster home: means a household of one or more persons who are licensed or approved to provide full-time care for one to five children living apart from their parents or guardians. See South Carolina Code 63-1-40
• 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.
• Guardian: means a person who legally has the care and management of a child. See South Carolina Code 63-1-40
• Judge: means the judge of the family court. See South Carolina Code 63-1-40
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Parent: means biological parent, adoptive parents, step-parent, or person with legal custody. See South Carolina Code 63-1-40
• 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.
• Qualified residential treatment program: means a childcare institution that:
  
  (a) has a trauma-informed treatment model that is designed to address the needs, including clinical needs as appropriate, of children with serious emotional or behavioral disorders or disturbances and, with respect to a child, is able to implement the treatment identified for the child by the assessment of the child required pursuant to § 63-7-1730;
  
  (b) has registered or licensed nursing staff and other licensed clinical staff who:
  
  (i) provide care within the scope of their practice as defined by state law;
  
  (ii) are on-site according to the treatment model referred to in subitem (a); and
  
  (iii) are available twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week;
  
  (c) to the extent appropriate, and in accordance with the child's best interests, facilitates participation of family members in the child's treatment program;
  
  (d) facilitates outreach to the family members of the child, including siblings; documents how the outreach is made, including contact information; and maintains contact information for any known biological family and fictive kin of the child;
  
  (e) documents how family members are integrated into the treatment process for the child, including postdischarge, and how sibling connections are maintained;
  
  (f) provides discharge planning and family-based aftercare support for at least six months postdischarge; and
  
  (g) is licensed by the department and is accredited by any of the following independent, not-for-profit organizations:
  
  (i) Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF);
  
  (ii) Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO);
  
  (iii) Council on Accreditation (COA);
  
  (iv) Teaching Family Association;
  
  (v) Educational Assessment Guidelines Leading Toward Excellence (EAGLE); or
  
  (vi) another organization approved by the department. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Reasonable and prudent parent standard: means the standard of care characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the health, safety, and best interest of a child while at the same time encouraging the growth and development of the child, that a caregiver shall use when determining whether to allow a child in foster care to participate in age or developmentally appropriate activities. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20