Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes > Chapter 245A - Human Services Licensing

• Adult: means an individual 18 years of age or older. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Adult: means a person who is 18 years old or older and who:

  (1) has mental illness, developmental disability, physical disability, or functional impairment; or

  (2) has substance use disorder or abuses substances. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02

• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• 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.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• annually: means prior to or within the same month of the subsequent calendar year. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• 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.
• Applicant: means an individual, organization, or government entity, as defined in section 13. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Authorized agent: means the controlling individual designated by the license holder responsible for communicating with the commissioner of human services on all matters related to this chapter and on whom service of all notices and orders must be made pursuant to section 245A. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Certification: means the commissioner's written authorization for a license holder licensed by the commissioner of human services or the commissioner of corrections to serve children in a residential program and provide specialized services based on certification standards in Minnesota Rules. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Chair: includes chairman, chairwoman, and chairperson. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Child: means a person who has not reached age 18. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• children: includes children by birth or adoption;

  (9) "day" comprises the time from midnight to the next midnight;

  (10) "fiscal year" means the year by or for which accounts are reckoned;

  (11) "hereafter" means a reference to the time after the time when the law containing such word takes effect;

  (12) "heretofore" means a reference to the time previous to the time when the law containing such word takes effect;

  (13) "judicial sale" means a sale conducted by an officer or person authorized for the purpose by some competent tribunal;

  (14) "minor" means an individual under the age of 18 years;

  (15) "money" means lawful money of the United States;

  (16) "night time" means the time from sunset to sunrise;

  (17) "non compos mentis" refers to an individual of unsound mind;

  (18) "notary" means a notary public;

  (19) "now" in any provision of a law referring to other laws in force, or to persons in office, or to any facts or circumstances as existing, relates to the laws in force, or to the persons in office, or to the facts or circumstances existing, respectively, on the effective date of such provision;

  (20) "verified" when used in reference to writings, means supported by oath or affirmation. See Minnesota Statutes 645.45

• Commissioner: means the commissioner of human services or the commissioner's designated representative including county agencies and private agencies. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Controlling individual: means an owner of a program or service provider licensed under this chapter and the following individuals, if applicable:

  (1) each officer of the organization, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer;

  (2) the individual designated as the authorized agent under section 245A. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02

• 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.
• County agency: means the agency designated by the county board of commissioners, human service boards, local social services agencies or multicounty local social services agencies, or departments where those have been established under the law. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Cradleboard: means a board or frame on which an infant is secured using blankets or other material, such as fabric or leather sides, and laces and often has a frame extending to protect the infant's head. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• direct ownership interest: means the possession of equity in capital, stock, or profits of an organization, and "indirect ownership interest" means a direct ownership interest in an entity that has a direct or indirect ownership interest in a licensed program. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Drop-in child care program: means a nonresidential program of child care in which children participate on a onetime only or occasional basis up to a maximum of 90 hours per child, per month. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• experience: means paid or unpaid employment:

  (1) caring for children as a teacher, assistant teacher, aide, or student intern:

  (i) in a licensed child care center, a licensed family day care or group family day care, or a Tribally licensed child care program in any United States state or territory; or

  (ii) in a public or nonpublic school;

  (2) caring for children as a staff person or unsupervised volunteer in a certified, license-exempt child care center under chapter 245H; or

  (3) providing direct contact services in a home or residential facility serving children with disabilities that requires a background study under section 245C. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02

• Family adult foster care home: means an adult foster care home:

  (1) that is licensed by the Department of Human Services;

  (2) that is the primary residence of the license holder; and

  (3) in which the license holder is the primary caregiver. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02

• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foster family setting: has the meaning given in Minnesota Rules, part Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Foster residence setting: has the meaning given in Minnesota Rules, part Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• functional impairment: means :

  (1) a condition that is characterized by substantial difficulty in carrying out one or more of the essential major activities of daily living, such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working; or

  (2) a disorder of thought or mood that significantly impairs judgment, behavior, capacity to recognize reality, or ability to cope with the ordinary demands of life and that requires support to maintain independence in the community. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02

• 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.
• HIV minimum standards: means those items approved by the department and contained in the HIV-1 Guidelines for substance use disorder treatment and care programs in Minnesota including HIV education to clients, completion of HIV training by all new and existing staff, provision for referral to individual HIV counseling and services for all clients, and the implementation of written policies and procedures for working with HIV-infected clients. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Individual who is related: means a spouse, a parent, a birth or adopted child or stepchild, a stepparent, a stepbrother, a stepsister, a niece, a nephew, an adoptive parent, a grandparent, a sibling, an aunt, an uncle, or a legal guardian. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Infant: means a child who is at least six weeks old but less than 12 months old. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• License: means a certificate issued by the commissioner under section 245A. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• License holder: means an individual, organization, or government entity that is legally responsible for the operation of the program or service, and has been granted a license by the commissioner under this chapter and the rules of the commissioner. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Majority: means with respect to an individual the period of time after the individual reaches the age of 18. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• managerial official: means an individual who has the decision-making authority related to the operation of the program, and the responsibility for the ongoing management of or direction of the policies, services, or employees of the program. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Minor: means an individual under the age of 18. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Minority: means with respect to an individual the period of time during which the individual is a minor. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
• Month: means a calendar month and "year" means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed; and "year" is equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Monthly: means at least once every calendar month, for the purposes of substance use disorder treatment programs licensed under chapter 245G. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Nonresidential program: means care, supervision, rehabilitation, training or habilitation of a person provided outside the person's own home and provided for fewer than 24 hours a day, including adult day care programs; and substance use disorder or substance abuse programs that are located in a nursing home or hospital and receive public funds for providing substance abuse or substance use disorder treatment services under chapter 254B. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Organization: means a domestic or foreign corporation, nonprofit corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, association, voluntary association, and any other legal or commercial entity. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner: means an individual or organization that has a direct or indirect ownership interest of five percent or more in a program licensed under this chapter. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Parent cooperative: means a nonprofit group child care program that is governed by a board that meets regularly and makes all continuing operational decisions about the program. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• 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.
• Person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Person: means a child or adult as defined in subdivisions 2 and 4. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Preschooler: means a child who is at least 24 months old up to school age. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Private agency: means an organization, other than a county agency, or a court with jurisdiction, that places persons who cannot remain in their own homes in residential programs, foster care, or adoptive homes. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Public member: means a person who is not, or never was, a member of the profession or occupation being licensed or regulated or the spouse of any such person, or a person who does not have or has never had, a material financial interest in either the providing of the professional service being licensed or regulated, or an activity directly related to the profession or occupation being licensed or regulated. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Quarterly: means at least every 90 calendar days, for the purposes of substance use disorder treatment programs licensed under chapter 245G. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• residential program: means a program that provides 24-hour-a-day care, supervision, food, lodging, rehabilitation, training, education, habilitation, or treatment outside a person's own home, including a program in an intermediate care facility for four or more persons with developmental disabilities; and substance use disorder or substance abuse programs that are located in a hospital or nursing home and receive public funds for providing substance abuse or substance use disorder treatment services under chapter 254B. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Respite care services: means temporary services provided to a person due to the absence or need for relief of the primary caregiver, the person's family member, or legal representative who is the primary caregiver and principally responsible for the care and supervision of the person. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• School age: means a child who is at least five years of age, but is younger than 11 years of age. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• 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.
• state: extends to and includes the District of Columbia and the several territories. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• supervision: means when a program staff person:

  (1) is accountable for the child's care;

  (2) can intervene to protect the health and safety of the child; and

  (3) is within sight and hearing of the child at all times except as described in paragraphs (b) to (e). See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02

• Tax: means any fee, charge, exaction, or assessment imposed by a governmental entity on an individual, person, entity, transaction, good, service, or other thing. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Toddler: means a child who is at least 12 months old but less than 24 months old, except that for purposes of specialized infant and toddler family and group family day care, "toddler" means a child who is at least 12 months old but less than 30 months old. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• trauma: means an event, series of events, or set of circumstances experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life-threatening and has lasting adverse effects on the individual's functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• verified: when used in reference to writings, means supported by oath or affirmation. See Minnesota Statutes 645.45
• victim of sex trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation: means a person who meets the definitions in section 260C. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• Violate: includes failure to comply with. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
• Weekly: means at least once every calendar week, for the purposes of substance use disorder treatment programs licensed under chapter 245G. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02
• youth: means a child as defined in section 260C. See Minnesota Statutes 245A.02