Section 148-17-1 - DEFINITIONSAs used in these rules the following definitions shall apply:
A. "Family Foster Home for Children" means a children's home that is a private dwelling where substitute parental care is provided within a family on a regular, 24-hour a day, residential basis to children under 18 years of age and unrelated to the foster family by blood or by marriage or adoption. The total number of children in care may not exceed 6, including the family's legal children under 16 years of age, with no more than 2 of these children under the age of 2. in order to keep siblings together this definition shall not prohibit the placement of more than the allowed number.B. "Blood relatives" shall mean mother, father, child, brother, sister, grandparents, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, first cousins, and any of the foregoing relatives by adoption. The definition for an Indian child's "Blood Relative" shall be in accordance with the Indian Child Welfare Act which is mother, father, a person who has reached the age of eighteen and is the Indian child's grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, niece or nephew, first or second cousin.C. "Relatives by marriage" shall mean step-child, step-brother, stepmothers step-father, step-sister, step-grandparents.D. 'Department" shall mean the Department of Human Services.E. "Respite care recipient" shall mean a child under 18 years of age, unrelated to the respite care provider by blood, marriage or by adoption.F. "Indian child" shall mean an unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) is eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe.G. "Respite care provider" shall mean a person maintaining a family respite home providing only respite care for children.H. "Respite Care" shall mean substitute parental care provided within a family on a 24 hour a day basis not to exceed a period of 3 consecutive weeks for each individual child.I. "Respite Home" shall mean a Family Foster Home Providing Only Respite Care for Children, hereinafter called Respite Homes.J. "Scheduled Drug" shall mean any scheduled drug, W, X, Y and Z pursuant. to Title 17-A MRSA §1102. K. "Practices detrimental to the welfare of children" shall include but not be limited to: 1. Sexual acts or sexual contact with a child, sexually suggestive touching, verbal harassment or insinuations or exposure of a child to viewing such acts or practices.2. Acts of violence within the family including verbal abuse and physical harming of a person with an object or a blow with the hand which occur in the presence of a child or the effects of which are observed by a child.3. Using, trafficking in, or furnishing any scheduled drug which was not obtained by valid medical prescription for use only by the person for whom the drug was prescribed.4. Instances of intoxication within the respite home which occur in the presence of a child and the behavior of which are observed by a child.10-148 C.M.R. ch. 17, § 1