Terms Used In Delaware Code > Title 14 > Chapter 30 - Early Childhood Education

• abused child: means as defined in § 901 of Title 10. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Affiliate: means a person that directly, or indirectly through 1 or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the person specified. See Delaware Code Title 5 Sec. 773
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Ballot: means those portions of cardboard, paper or other material to be placed within the ballot frames of a voting machine or to be used for absentee voting in order to list the names of the offices to be voted for, the name of each candidate and the designation of the party by which the candidate is nominated, a space for the voter to write in the name of any candidate of that voter's choice for any office, and the statement of any question submitted with provision for a "yes" or "no" vote. See Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 101
• banks: when used in this chapter, do not include such national banks, except as otherwise provided in subchapters VI and VII of this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 5 Sec. 701
• Child: means a person who has not reached the age of 18 years. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Child: means any person who has not reached that person's own eighteenth birthday. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• convicted: means entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, regardless of whether the plea was subsequently discharged or dismissed under the first offenders domestic violence diversion program pursuant to § 1024 of Title 10, or under the first offenders controlled substances diversion program pursuant to § 4767 of this title, or of a Robinson plea, or of a probation before judgment discharge without judgment of conviction notwithstanding the provisions of § 4218(g) of Title 11, or a finding of guilt after trial, or a finding of not guilty after trial as a result of the defense of mental disease or defect pursuant to Title 11, or adjudication of delinquency for conduct which if committed by an adult, would constitute a crime; or "conviction" or "convicted" under similar proceedings of another state, territory or jurisdiction. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• court: as used in this chapter shall mean either the Resident Judge of the county in which the person appealing the decision resides, or, in case of such judge's disability or absence from the county, any judge entitled to sit in the Supreme Court. See Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 2101
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Death: means the loss of life of a child. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the State Department of Elections, consisting of the State Board of Elections and such staff as the Board shall appoint under this title, but shall not include the State Election Commissioner. See Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 101
• Department: means the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Director: means the Director of the Division of Public Health, or such persons as may be designated by the Director. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 101
• Director: means the Director of the Division of Family Services or the Director of the Division of Management Support Services of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Division: means the Division of Public Health. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 101
• Division: means the Division of Family Services of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Family assessment and services: means a case management approach by the Division of Family Services that provides for a prompt assessment of a child and the child's family and the circumstances of the reported incident, including the known history of the child or the alleged perpetrator, when there has been a report to the Department that the child was a victim of abuse or neglect, or at risk of maltreatment by a person responsible for that child's care, custody or control. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Human trafficking: means as defined in § 787 of Title 11. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit: means the unit within the Department that investigates allegations of institutional child abuse and neglect. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Institutional child abuse or neglect: means as defined in § 901 of Title 10. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Internal information system: means the Department's system of maintaining information related to all reports of abuse, neglect, investigations, family assessments, services and other relevant information. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Investigation: means the collection of evidence in response to a report of abuse, neglect, or risk of maltreatment of a child by a person responsible for that child's care, custody or control in order to determine if a child has been abused, neglected, or is at risk of maltreatment. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Investigation Coordinator: means an attorney licensed to practice law in this State employed by the Office of the Child Advocate, who is authorized to independently track each reported case of alleged child abuse or neglect within the Department's internal information system and who is responsible for monitoring each reported case involving the death of, serious physical injury to, or allegations of sexual abuse of a child from inception to final criminal and civil disposition. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Judge: means judge of elections. See Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 101
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Multidisciplinary team: means a combination of the following entities as required by law to investigate or monitor multidisciplinary cases: the Division, the Department's Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit, the appropriate law-enforcement agency, the Department of Justice, and the Investigation Coordinator. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Neglect: means as defined in § 901 of Title 10. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Physical injury: means as defined in § 1100 of Title 11. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Registration officers: means the registrar, assistant registrar and alternate registrars appointed by the Department as defined in this section. See Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 101
• Report: means the communication of an allegation of child abuse or neglect to the Department pursuant to § 903 or § 905 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services or such persons as may be designated by the Secretary. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 101
• Serious physical injury: means as defined in § 1100 of Title 11. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Sexual abuse: means as defined in § 901 of Title 10. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 902
• State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Year: means a calendar year, and is equivalent to the words "year of our Lord. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302