2006 Kansas Code - 38-1502

      38-1502.   Definitions. As used in this code, unless the context otherwise indicates:

      (a)   "Child in need of care" means a person less than 18 years of age who:

      (1)   Is without adequate parental care, control or subsistence and the condition is not due solely to the lack of financial means of the child's parents or other custodian;

      (2)   is without the care or control necessary for the child's physical, mental or emotional health;

      (3)   has been physically, mentally or emotionally abused or neglected or sexually abused;

      (4)   has been placed for care or adoption in violation of law;

      (5)   has been abandoned or does not have a known living parent;

      (6)   is not attending school as required by K.S.A. 72-977 or 72-1111, and amendments thereto;

      (7)   except in the case of a violation of K.S.A. 41-727, subsection (j) of K.S.A. 74-8810 or subsection (m) or (n) of K.S.A. 79-3321, and amendments thereto, or, except as provided in subsection (a)(12) of K.S.A. 21-4204a and amendments thereto, does an act which, when committed by a person under 18 years of age, is prohibited by state law, city ordinance or county resolution but which is not prohibited when done by an adult;

      (8)   while less than 10 years of age, commits any act which if done by an adult would constitute the commission of a felony or misdemeanor as defined by K.S.A. 21-3105 and amendments thereto;

      (9)   is willfully and voluntarily absent from the child's home without the consent of the child's parent or other custodian;

      (10)   is willfully and voluntarily absent at least a second time from a court ordered or designated placement, or a placement pursuant to court order, if the absence is without the consent of the person with whom the child is placed or, if the child is placed in a facility, without the consent of the person in charge of such facility or such person's designee;

      (11)   has been residing in the same residence with a sibling or another person under 18 years of age, who has been physically, mentally or emotionally abused or neglected, or sexually abused; or

      (12)   while less than 10 years of age commits the offense defined in K.S.A. 21-4204a and amendments thereto.

      (b)   "Physical, mental or emotional abuse" means the infliction of physical, mental or emotional injury or the causing of a deterioration of a child and may include, but shall not be limited to, maltreatment or exploiting a child to the extent that the child's health or emotional well-being is endangered.

      (c)   "Sexual abuse" means any act committed with a child which is described in article 35, chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated and those acts described in K.S.A. 21-3602 or 21-3603, and amendments thereto.

      (d)   "Parent," when used in relation to a child or children, includes a guardian, conservator and every person who is by law liable to maintain, care for or support the child.

      (e)   "Interested party" means the state, the petitioner, the child, any parent, any grandparent and any person found to be an interested party pursuant to K.S.A. 38-1541 and amendments thereto.

      (f)   "Law enforcement officer" means any person who by virtue of office or public employment is vested by law with a duty to maintain public order or to make arrests for crimes, whether that duty extends to all crimes or is limited to specific crimes.

      (g)   "Youth residential facility" means any home, foster home or structure which provides 24-hour-a-day care for children and which is licensed pursuant to article 5 of chapter 65 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated.

      (h)   "Shelter facility" means any public or private facility or home other than a juvenile detention facility that may be used in accordance with this code for the purpose of providing either temporary placement for the care of children in need of care prior to the issuance of a dispositional order or longer term care under a dispositional order.

      (i)   "Juvenile detention facility" means any secure public or private facility used for the lawful custody of accused or adjudicated juvenile offenders which must not be a jail.

      (j)   "Adult correction facility" means any public or private facility, secure or nonsecure, which is used for the lawful custody of accused or convicted adult criminal offenders.

      (k)   "Secure facility" means a facility which is operated or structured so as to ensure that all entrances and exits from the facility are under the exclusive control of the staff of the facility, whether or not the person being detained has freedom of movement within the perimeters of the facility, or which relies on locked rooms and buildings, fences or physical restraint in order to control behavior of its residents. No secure facility shall be in a city or county jail.

      (l)   "Ward of the court" means a child over whom the court has acquired jurisdiction by the filing of a petition pursuant to this code and who continues subject to that jurisdiction until the petition is dismissed or the child is discharged as provided in K.S.A. 38-1503 and amendments thereto.

      (m)   "Custody," whether temporary, protective or legal, means the status created by court order or statute which vests in a custodian, whether an individual or an agency, the right to physical possession of the child and the right to determine placement of the child, subject to restrictions placed by the court.

      (n)   "Placement" means the designation by the individual or agency having custody of where and with whom the child will live.

      (o)   "Secretary" means the secretary of social and rehabilitation services.

      (p)   "Relative" means a person related by blood, marriage or adoption but, when referring to a relative of a child's parent, does not include the child's other parent.

      (q)   "Court-appointed special advocate" means a responsible adult other than an attorney guardian ad litem who is appointed by the court to represent the best interests of a child, as provided in K.S.A. 38-1505a and amendments thereto, in a proceeding pursuant to this code.

      (r)   "Multidisciplinary team" means a group of persons, appointed by the court or by the state department of social and rehabilitation services under K.S.A. 38-1523a and amendments thereto, which has knowledge of the circumstances of a child in need of care. A multidisciplinary team may serve as a community services team.

      (s)   "Jail" means:

      (1)   An adult jail or lockup; or

      (2)   a facility in the same building or on the same grounds as an adult jail or lockup, unless the facility meets all applicable standards and licensure requirements under law and there is (A) total separation of the juvenile and adult facility spatial areas such that there could be no haphazard or accidental contact between juvenile and adult residents in the respective facilities; (B) total separation in all juvenile and adult program activities within the facilities, including recreation, education, counseling, health care, dining, sleeping, and general living activities; and (C) separate juvenile and adult staff, including management, security staff and direct care staff such as recreational, educational and counseling.

      (t)   "Kinship care" means the placement of a child in the home of the child's relative or in the home of another adult with whom the child or the child's parent already has a close emotional attachment.

      (u)   "Juvenile intake and assessment worker" means a responsible adult authorized to perform intake and assessment services as part of the intake and assessment system established pursuant to K.S.A. 75-7023, and amendments thereto.

      (v)   "Abandon" means to forsake, desert or cease providing care for the child without making appropriate provisions for substitute care.

      (w)   "Permanent guardianship" means a judicially created relationship between child and caretaker which is intended to be permanent and self-sustaining without ongoing state oversight or intervention by the secretary. The permanent guardian stands in loco parentis and exercises all the rights and responsibilities of a parent. A permanent guardian may be appointed after termination of parental rights or without termination of parental rights, if the parent consents and agrees to the appointment of a permanent guardian. Upon appointment of a permanent guardian, the child shall be discharged from the custody of the secretary.

      (x)   "Aggravated circumstances" means the abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, sexual abuse or chronic, life threatening neglect of a child.

      (y)   "Permanency hearing" means a notice and opportunity to be heard is provided to interested parties, foster parents, preadoptive parents or relatives providing care for the child. The court, after consideration of the evidence, shall determine whether progress toward the case plan goal is adequate or reintegration is a viable alternative, or if the case should be referred to the county or district attorney for filing of a petition to terminate parental rights or to appoint a permanent guardian.

      (z)   "Extended out of home placement" means a child has been in the custody of the secretary and placed with neither parent for 15 of the most recent 22 months beginning 60 days after the date at which a child in the custody of the secretary was removed from the home.

      (aa)   "Educational institution" means all schools at the elementary and secondary levels.

      (bb)   "Educator" means any administrator, teacher or other professional or paraprofessional employee of an educational institution who has exposure to a pupil specified in subsection (a) of K.S.A. 72-89b03 and amendments thereto.

      (cc)   "Neglect" means acts or omissions by a parent, guardian or person responsible for the care of a child resulting in harm to a child or presenting a likelihood of harm and the acts or omissions are not due solely to the lack of financial means of the child's parents or other custodian. Neglect may include but shall not be limited to:

      (1)   Failure to provide the child with food, clothing or shelter necessary to sustain the life or health of the child;

      (2)   failure to provide adequate supervision of a child or to remove a child from a situation which requires judgment or actions beyond the child's level of maturity, physical condition or mental abilities and that results in bodily injury or a likelihood of harm to the child; or

      (3)   failure to use resources available to treat a diagnosed medical condition if such treatment will make a child substantially more comfortable, reduce pain and suffering, correct or substantially diminish a crippling condition from worsening. A parent legitimately practicing religious beliefs who does not provide specified medical treatment for a child because of religious beliefs shall not for that reason be considered a negligent parent; however, this exception shall not preclude a court from entering an order pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of K.S.A. 38-1513, and amendments thereto.

      (dd)   "Community services team" means a group of persons, appointed by the court or by the state department of social and rehabilitation services for the purpose of assessing the needs of a child who is alleged to be a child in need of care.

      History:   L. 1982, ch. 182, § 2; L. 1983, ch. 140, § 12; L. 1984, ch. 153, § 1; L. 1985, ch. 144, § 1; L. 1986, ch. 158, § 2; L. 1987, ch. 112, § 36; L. 1988, ch. 138, § 1; L. 1989, ch. 95, § 7; L. 1990, ch. 146, § 2; L. 1990, ch. 150, § 4; L. 1992, ch. 318, § 7; L. 1994, ch. 270, § 3; L. 1994, ch. 337, § 1; L. 1996, ch. 214, § 38; L. 1998, ch. 139, § 1; L. 1999, ch. 156, § 4; L. 2000, ch. 150, § 3; L. 2001, ch. 211, § 10; L. 2002, ch. 36, § 1; July 1.