2009 Louisiana Children's Code :: CHC 1003 - Definitions

Art. 1003. Definitions

(1) "Abuse" means any of the following acts which seriously endanger the physical, mental, or emotional health and safety of the child:

(a) The infliction or attempted infliction, or, as a result of inadequate supervision, the allowance or toleration of the infliction or attempted infliction of physical or mental injury upon the child by a parent or any other person.

(b) The exploitation or overwork of a child by a parent or any other person.

(c) The involvement of the child in any sexual act with a parent or any other person, or the aiding or toleration by the parent or the caretaker of the child's sexual involvement with any other person or of the child's involvement in pornographic displays, or any other involvement of a child in sexual activity constituting a crime under the laws of this state.

(2) "Agency" shall include the Department of Children and Family Services, the corresponding department of any other state, and those private agencies and institutions licensed for the placement of children for adoption by the Department of Children and Family Services or by the corresponding department of any other state.

(3) "Child in need of care" means a child adjudicated as such under Title VI.

(4) "Dangerous to others" means the condition of a person whose behavior or significant threats support a reasonable expectation that there is a substantial risk that he will inflict physical harm upon another person in the near future.

(5) "Dangerous to self" means the condition of a person whose behavior, significant threats, or inaction supports a reasonable expectation that there is a substantial risk that he will inflict physical or severe emotional harm upon his own person.

(6) "Department" means the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services.

(7) "Grave disability" means the condition of a person who is unable to provide for his own basic physical needs, such as essential food, clothing, medical care, and shelter, as a result of serious mental illness or substance abuse and is unable to survive safely in freedom or protect himself from serious harm. The term also includes incapacitation by alcohol, which means the condition of a person who, as a result of the use of alcohol, is unconscious or whose judgment is otherwise so impaired that he is incapable of realizing and making a rational decision with respect to his need for treatment.

(8) "Mental deficiency" means significantly subaverage intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior, as determined by a psychiatrist or psychologist and manifested during the developmental period.

(9) "Mental illness" means a psychiatric disorder which has substantial adverse effects on the parent's ability to function and which requires care and treatment as determined by a psychiatrist or psychologist. It does not include a person suffering solely from mental retardation, epilepsy, alcoholism, or drug abuse.

(10) "Neglect" means the refusal or failure of a parent or caretaker to supply the child with necessary food, clothing, shelter, care, treatment, or counseling for any injury, illness, or condition of the child, as a result of which the child's physical, mental, or emotional health and safety is substantially threatened or impaired. Whenever, in lieu of medical care, a child is being provided treatment in accordance with the tenets of a well-recognized religious method of healing which has a reasonable, proven record of success, the child shall not, for that reason alone, be considered to be neglected or abused. Disagreement by the parent regarding the need for medical care shall not, by itself, be grounds for termination of parental rights. However, nothing herein shall prohibit the court from ordering medical services for the child when there is substantial risk of harm to the child's health or welfare.

(11) "Permanent placement" means either placement of the child with a legal guardian or placement of the child with adoptive parents pursuant to a final decree of adoption.

(12) "Starvation" means mistreatment causing suffering from extreme hunger or malnourishment.

(13) "Substance abuse" means the condition of a person who uses narcotic, stimulant, depressant, soporific, tranquilizing, or hallucinogenic drugs or alcohol to the extent that it renders the person dangerous to himself or others or renders the person gravely disabled.

(14) "Torture" means torment, maiming, mutilation, or ritualistic or malicious acts causing extreme and unjustifiable physical or mental pain or suffering, disfigurement, or injury.

Acts 1991, No. 235, §10, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1992, No. 705, §1, eff. July 6, 1992; Acts 1997, No. 256, §1; Acts 1999, No. 449, §1, eff. July 1, 1999.