Section 27-20.2-01 - DefinitionsAs used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:
1. "Abandon" means: a. As to a parent of a child not in the custody of that parent, failure by the noncustodial parent significantly without justifiable cause:(1) To communicate with the child; or(2) To provide for the care and support of the child as required by law; orb. As to a parent of a child in that parent's custody:(1) To leave the child for an indefinite period without making firm and agreed plans, with the child's immediate caregiver, for the parent's resumption of physical custody;(2) Following the child's birth or treatment at a hospital, to fail to arrange for the child's discharge within ten days after the child no longer requires hospital care; or(3) Willfully fail to furnish food, shelter, clothing, or medical attention reasonably sufficient to meet the child's needs.2. "Abandoned infant" means a child who has been abandoned before reaching the age of one year.3. "Certified shelter care" means a nonsecure permanent dwelling operated by an agency certified by the department of health and human services, where employees offer safe shelter, food, and a structured routine, and which is available twenty-four hours a day to a resident in need of emergency placement, not to exceed seven days, unless otherwise approved by the department.4. "Child" means an individual who is: a. Under the age of eighteen years and is not married; orb. Under the age of twenty years with respect to a delinquent act committed while under the age of eighteen years and not married.5. "Child in need of protection" means a child who:a. Is without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for the child's physical, mental, or emotional health, or morals, and the need for services or protection is not due primarily to the lack of financial means of the child's parents, guardian, or other custodian;b. Has been placed for care or adoption in violation of law;c. Has been abandoned by the child's parents, guardian, or other custodian;d. Is without proper parental care, control, or education as required by law, or other care and control necessary for the child's well-being because of the physical, mental, emotional, or other illness or disability of the child's parent or parents, and that such lack of care is not due to a willful act of commission or act of omission by the child's parents, and care is requested by a parent;e. Is in need of treatment and whose parents, guardian, or other custodian have refused to participate in treatment as ordered by the juvenile court;f. Was subject to prenatal exposure to chronic or severe use of alcohol or any controlled substance as defined in chapter 19-03.1 in a manner not lawfully prescribed by a practitioner;g. Is present in an environment subjecting the child to exposure to a controlled substance, chemical substance, or drug paraphernalia as prohibited by section 19-03.1-22.2; orh. Is a victim of human trafficking as defined in title 12.1.6. "Child in need of services" means a child who in any of the foregoing instances is in need of treatment or rehabilitation:a. Is habitually and without justification truant from school subject to compulsory school attendance and is absent from school without an authorized excuse more than three days during a school year;b. Is habitually disobedient of the reasonable and lawful commands of the child's parent, guardian, or other custodian, including running away, and is ungovernable or who is willfully in a situation dangerous or injurious to the health, safety, or morals of the child or others;c. Has committed an offense applicable only to a child, except for an offense committed by a minor fourteen years of age or older under subsection 2 of section 12.1-31-03 or an equivalent local ordinance or resolution; ord. Is under the age of fourteen years and has purchased, possessed, smoked, or used tobacco, a tobacco-related product, an electronic smoking device, or an alternative nicotine product in violation of subsection 2 of section 12.1-31-03. As used in this subdivision, "electronic smoking device" and "alternative nicotine product" have the same meaning as in section 12.1-31-03; ande. In any of the foregoing instances is in need of treatment or rehabilitation.7. "Custodian" means a person, other than a parent or legal guardian, which stands in loco parentis to the child and a person that has been given legal custody of the child by order of a court. 8. "Delinquent act" means an act designated a crime under the law, including local ordinances or resolutions of this state, or of another state if the act occurred in that state, or under federal law.9. "Delinquent child" means a child who has committed a delinquent act and is in need of treatment or rehabilitation or is a child subject to proceedings arising under the interstate compact on juveniles.10. "Director" means the director of juvenile court or the director's designee.11. "Diversion" means an intervention strategy that redirects a child away from formal processing in the juvenile justice system, while still holding the child accountable for that child's actions.12. "Facility" means buildings, structures, or systems, including those for essential administration and support, which are used to provide residential treatment for children.13. "Host county" means the county within the human service zone in which the human service zone administrative office is located and in which the human service zone team members are employed.14. "Human service zone" means a county or consolidated group of counties administering human services within a designated area in accordance with an agreement or plan approved by the department of health and human services.15. "Individual justice planning" means a process to identify, accommodate, and develop appropriate consequences for behaviors caused by or related to an individual's mental or cognitive impairment.16. "Juvenile court" means the district court of this state.17. "Juvenile drug court" means a program established by the supreme court which is a post-petition or post-adjudication program aimed at intervening in substance use disorders through intense supervision and participation in recovery services.18. "Proceeding" means any hearing conducted before a juvenile court or a referral for service.19. "Qualified residential treatment program" means a licensed or approved residence providing an out-of-home treatment placement for children, including a trauma-informed model.20. "Relative" or "kinship relative" means: a. The child's grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, half-sibling, aunt, great-aunt, uncle, great-uncle, nephew, niece, or first cousin;b. An individual with a relationship to the child, derived through a current or former spouse of the child's parent, similar to a relationship described in subdivision a;c. An individual recognized in the child's community as having a relationship with the child similar to a relationship described in subdivision a; ord. The child's stepparent.21. "Restorative justice" means a system of justice which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large.22. "Shelter care" means temporary care during which a child needs a safe bed outside the home, in a shelter care site or certified shelter care site managed by an agency or licensed foster care facility.23. "The court" means the district courts as designated by the North Dakota supreme court which includes juvenile court as a subset of district court.24. "Willfully" has the meaning provided in section 12.1-02-02.Amended by S.L. 2023 , ch. 295( HB 1263 ), § 1, eff. 8/1/2023.Amended by S.L. 2023 , ch. 294( HB 1137 ), § 5, eff. 8/1/2023.Added by S.L. 2021 , ch. 245( HB 1035 ), § 22, eff. 7/1/2021.