14 Del. Admin. Code § 936-I-4.0
The following words and terms, when used in these regulations, have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Adoption" means termination of previously held parental rights over a child and the creation and finalization of a new legal parent-child relationship.
"Adoptive home" means a private residence where an adoptive parent lives and meets the requirements of these regulations to accept a child for adoption.
"Adoptive parent" means a person approved by an agency to adopt a child and create a new legal parent-child relationship.
"Adult" means a person who has reached the age of 18.
"Agency" means a child placing agency.
"Agreement of understanding" means a document that is part of a corrective action plan or used when necessary to ensure regulation compliance.
"Applicant" means a person, agency, corporation, partnership, or entity applying for a license through OCCL to provide foster care or adoption services. In the foster care section, the applicant refers to a foster parent applicant. In the adoption section, the applicant refers to an adoptive parent applicant.
"Background check" means a State of Delaware and federal (national) fingerprinted report of a person's entire criminal history, a Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families child protection registry check. In addition to the previously mentioned report and check, background checks for applicants for foster care and adoption include a search of state child abuse and neglect registries, repositories, or databases in the state where the applicant resides, and in each state in which the applicant resided during the past five years.
"Birth parent" means the child's biological mother or father.
"Business day" means a weekday Monday through Friday not including State of Delaware legal holidays.
"Caseworker" means an agency staff member who works directly with a child, his or her birth parent or guardian, foster or adoptive parent, and other relevant person. This person is primarily responsible for the development, implementation, and review of a service plan for a child and his or her birth parent or guardian. This person performs a placement or home-finding service for a child, conducts an assessment study for a foster or adoptive parent, and meets the qualifications as specified in these regulations.
"Caseworker supervisor" means an agency staff member with responsibility for the supervision of caseworkers and meets the qualifications specified in these regulations.
"Chief administrator" means an agency staff member designated by a licensee or governing body as having day-to-day responsibilities for the overall administration and operation of an agency. This person assures the care, treatment, safety, and protection of child clients and meets the qualifications specified in these regulations.
"Child" means a person who has not reached the age of 18.
"Child abuse" or "abuse" means to cause or inflict sexual abuse on a child; or an act by a person that has care, custody, or control of a child that causes or inflicts physical injury through unjustified force, emotional abuse, torture, exploitation, maltreatment, or mistreatment as defined in 10 Del.C. § 901.
"Child care licensing specialist" or "specialist" means an OCCL employee responsible for performing regulatory activities, including monitoring child care facilities, investigating complaints, monitoring the need for enforcement actions, and making recommendations for licensure as set forth in Delaware Code and these regulations.
"Child care licensing supervisor" or "supervisor" means an OCCL employee who is responsible for supervising child care licensing specialists. This person may perform regulatory actions and ensures licensing specialists are performing regulatory activities. This person approves complaint investigations, enforcement actions, and licenses.
"Child neglect" or "neglect" means the failure to provide, by those responsible for the care, custody, and control of the child, the proper or necessary education, as required by law; nutrition; or medical, surgical, or any other care necessary for the child's well-being as defined in 10 Del.C. § 901.
"Child sexual abuse" means an act against a child that is described as a sexual offense or child exploitation as defined in 11 Del.C. § 8550 (2).
"Complaint investigation" means the process followed by OCCL, Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, or an agency to investigate accusations that a licensee does not comply with these regulations or applicable laws.
"Conference" means a meeting between OCCL and a licensee to discuss non-compliance of a serious or repeated nature or to discuss the denial of a variance request.
"Corrective action plan" means a document listing the non-compliance a licensee must correct, how it must be corrected, and the date OCCL requires the corrections to be completed. This document serves as written notice of non-compliance with these regulations.
"Court appointed special advocate" or "CASA" means a person appointed by the court to represent the best interests of a child whether or not that reflects the child's wishes. This person shall be a party to child welfare proceedings. The CASA is charged with obtaining a clear understanding of the situation and child's needs and making recommendations to the court as to what is in the child's best interests.
"Denial" means the process of refusing to grant a license after OCCL receives an application. This constitutes refusal of permission to operate.
"Department" means the Delaware Department of Education.
"Developmentally appropriate" means offering a child an opportunity for learning that is suitable to his or her developmental age and stage. This opportunity is consistent with the child's special needs and encourages development to the next stage.
"Disability" means a physical, intellectual, emotional, developmental or chronic medical condition.
"Division" means the Division of Family Services within the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families.
"Enforcement action" means an action taken by OCCL to encourage compliance, such as warning of probation, probation, suspension, revocation, or denial.
"Family" means biological or adoptive father, mother, brother, and sister, but may be interpreted to include any person, whether related to a child by blood or not, who resides in a child's home, takes part in a child's family life, or has responsibility for or legal custody of a child.
"Family service plan" means a comprehensive individualized action plan developed by the agency in cooperation with a child, his or her birth parent or guardian, and other family members. The plan establishes goals, objectives, and deadlines based on resolving any problem that resulted in the child's placement. The plan includes needed services and, if applicable, a visitation and reunification plan.
"Foster care" means the temporary care of a child placed in an agency-approved foster home.
"Foster home" means a private residence where a foster parent lives and meets the requirements of these regulations for foster care.
"Foster parent" means an agency-approved person who can provide foster care for a child.
"Governing body" means a group of people with the ultimate responsibility for and authority over the operation of an agency, for example, a board of directors.
"Guardian" means a person appointed by a court of appropriate jurisdiction.
"Guardian ad litem" or "GAL" means a person appointed by the court to represent the best interests of a child whether or not that reflects the child's wishes. This person shall be a party to child welfare proceedings. The GAL is charged with obtaining a clear understanding of the situation and child's needs and making recommendations to the court as to what is in the child's best interests.
"Health care provider" means a professional certified by the appropriate licensing body who practices medicine with or without supervision. The most common types of health care providers include physicians, advance practice nurses or nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
"Hearing" means the hearing provided to a licensee or applicant when requesting an appeal of OCCL's decision to place the facility on an enforcement action. The licensee or applicant may provide evidence to dispute the action.
"Home study" means an assessment of a foster or adoptive parent applicant, household members, and the applicant's home to determine suitability as a foster or adoptive parent. The agency must update a home study at least yearly and whenever a significant change occurs in the household.
"Home study update" or "addendum" means at least an annual review of a home study to ensure all information is accurate and updated. When a significant change occurs or new information is provided, the agency must update the home study.
"Household member" means a person living in a home with a foster or adoptive parent applicant or approved foster or adoptive parent for more than 30 days within a year.
"Infant" means a child less than one year old.
"International adoption" means the adoption of a child who resides in another country or resides in the United States and is being adopted by a person from another country.
"License" means a document issued by OCCL allowing a person to operate an agency after demonstrating compliance with these regulations and other applicable codes, regulations, laws, treaties, and agreements.
"Licensee" means a person or entity legally responsible for a licensed agency.
"Licensure" means OCCL issued a license after the applicant showed compliance with these regulations.
"Medical care" means a child's medical, dental, or behavioral health care, including treatment, prescribed medication, and immunization. Behavioral health includes mental and chemical dependency care.
"OCCL's administrator" means a staff member responsible for the supervision and administration of OCCL.
"Office of Child Care Licensing" or "OCCL" means the agency within the department authorized under 14 Del.C. §§ 3001A- 3005 A to promulgate and enforce regulations for child care, to license child care facilities, and to develop and implement policies and procedures.
"Parent" means a birth or adoptive mother or father, a guardian, or a person named in a sworn statement or consent who has responsibility for or legal custody of a child.
"Personal belongings" means items, including clothing, toys, photos, or mementos brought with a foster child into the foster or adoptive home or accumulated by the child during placement.
"Post-finalization services" means services provided after an adoption is completed.
"Post-placement services" means services provided after a child is placed for adoption or before the adoption is completed.
"Pre-adoptive" means a child is placed but the adoption is not final.
"Preschool-age child" means a child age three through five not yet attending kindergarten. If a child is older than age five and not attending kindergarten or a higher grade, OCCL considers that child in the preschool-age group.
"Probation" means an enforcement action initiated by OCCL because of non-compliance with these regulations.
"Provisional license" means a license issued for a maximum period of three months when the licensee is temporarily unable to comply with these regulations. There can be no serious risk to the health, safety, and well-being of an agency's client. The licensee operates under a corrective action plan. An extension beyond this time requires the OCCL administrator's approval.
"Regulation" means a minimum standard required for a specific part of child welfare established by OCCL and known as DELACARE: Regulations for Child Placing Agencies.
"Respite care" means alternate care provided for 14 days or less for a foster child placed by an agency.
"Revocation" means the process of rescinding a license during the license's effective dates and withdrawing permission to operate.
"School-age child" means a child who attends or has attended kindergarten or a higher grade.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of Education.
"Service plan" means a comprehensive action plan for the child and his or her family developed by the agency in cooperation with the child, biological family, foster parents, and referral source to establish specific goals and objectives, and deadlines for meeting these goals and objectives. The plan is based on the child's age, functioning level, perception of time, and on the family's ability to understand and participate.
"Special needs" means a diagnosed physical disability, chronic disease requiring medical attention, or mental, educational, or emotional condition requiring treatment or accommodations.
"Staff member" means an agency employee, contractor, or volunteer working more than five days or 40 hours a year. A foster parent is not considered a staff member.
"Suspension order" means a letter sent by OCCL informing the licensee to stop providing services as of a specific date. While the license is suspended, the licensee cannot provide services.
"Toddler" means a child over 12 months old and under 36 months old.
"Training" means an organized learning activity designed to develop or improve the abilities of a staff member or a foster or adoptive parent to provide services to children.
"Variance" means OCCL's approval for a licensee to meet the intent of a specific licensing regulation in a way that is different from the way the regulation specifies. OCCL will only give this approval when the change will not endanger the health, safety, or well-being of an agency's client.
"Volunteer" means a person who provides an unpaid service or support to an agency.
"Warning of probation" means an enforcement action initiated by OCCL because of non-compliance with these regulations.
14 Del. Admin. Code § 936-I-4.0
24 DE Reg. 274 (9/1/2020) (final)