Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 41 > Chapter 3 > Part 1 - General

• Abused or neglected: means the state or condition of a child who has suffered child abuse or neglect. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• Adequate health care: means any medical care or nonmedical remedial health care recognized by an insurer licensed to provide disability insurance under Title 33, including the prevention of the withholding of medically indicated treatment or medically indicated psychological care permitted or authorized under state law. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• 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.
• Best interests of the child: means the physical, mental, and psychological conditions and needs of the child and any other factor considered by the court to be relevant to the child. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• Child abuse or neglect: means :

  (i)actual physical or psychological harm to a child;

  (ii)substantial risk of physical or psychological harm to a child; or

  (iii)abandonment. See Montana Code 41-3-102

• Child protection specialist: means an employee of the department who investigates allegations of child abuse, neglect, and endangerment and has been certified pursuant to 41-3-127. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• dangerous drugs: means the compounds and substances described as dangerous drugs in Schedules I through IV in Title 50, chapter 32, part 2. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• Department: means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-2201. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• 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.
• Germane: On the subject of the pending bill or other business; a strict standard of relevance.
• 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.
• Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
• Indian child: has the meaning provided in 41-3-1303. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• Indian tribe: has the meaning provided in 41-3-1303. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• infant: means an infant less than 1 year of age or an infant 1 year of age or older who has been continuously hospitalized since birth, who was born extremely prematurely, or who has a long-term disability. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• 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.
• Parent: means a biological or adoptive parent or stepparent. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• Permanent placement: means reunification of the child with the child's parent, adoption, placement with a legal guardian, placement with a fit and willing relative, or placement in another planned permanent living arrangement until the child reaches 18 years of age. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Physical abuse: means an intentional act, an intentional omission, or gross negligence resulting in substantial skin bruising, internal bleeding, substantial injury to skin, subdural hematoma, burns, bone fractures, extreme pain, permanent or temporary disfigurement, impairment of any bodily organ or function, or death. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• Physical neglect: means :

  (a)failure to provide basic necessities, including but not limited to appropriate and adequate nutrition, protective shelter from the elements, and appropriate clothing related to weather conditions;

  (b)failure to provide cleanliness and general supervision, or both;

  (c)exposing or allowing the child to be exposed to an unreasonable physical or psychological risk to the child;

  (d)allowing sexual abuse or exploitation of the child; or

  (e)causing malnutrition or a failure to thrive. See Montana Code 41-3-102

• Physical or psychological harm to a child: means the harm that occurs whenever the parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare inflicts or allows to be inflicted on the child physical abuse, physical neglect, or psychological abuse or neglect. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Protective services: means services provided by the department:

  (i)to enable a child alleged to have been abused or neglected to remain safely in the home;

  (ii)to enable a child alleged to have been abused or neglected who has been removed from the home to safely return to the home; or

  (iii)to achieve permanency for a child adjudicated as a youth in need of care when circumstances and the best interests of the child prevent reunification with parents or a return to the home. See Montana Code 41-3-102

• Psychological abuse or neglect: means severe maltreatment, through acts or omissions, that is injurious to the child's intellectual or psychological capacity to function and that is identified as psychological abuse or neglect by a licensed psychologist, a licensed professional counselor, a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed psychiatrist, a licensed pediatrician, or a licensed advanced practice registered nurse with a focused practice in psychiatry. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• Qualified individual: means a trained professional or licensed clinician who:

  (a)has expertise in the therapeutic needs assessment used for placement of youth in a therapeutic group home;

  (b)is not an employee of the department; and

  (c)is not connected to or affiliated with any placement setting in which children are placed. See Montana Code 41-3-102

• Reasonable cause to suspect: means cause that would lead a reasonable person to believe that child abuse or neglect may have occurred or is occurring, based on all the facts and circumstances known to the person. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• Residential setting: means an out-of-home placement where the child typically resides for longer than 30 days for the purpose of receiving food, shelter, security, guidance, and, if necessary, treatment. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• Sex: means the organization of the body parts and gametes for reproduction in human beings and other organisms. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Sexual abuse: means the commission of sexual assault, sexual intercourse without consent, aggravated sexual intercourse without consent, indecent exposure, sexual abuse, ritual abuse of a minor, or incest, as described in Title 45, chapter 5. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Therapeutic needs assessment: means an assessment performed by a qualified individual within 30 days of placement of a child in a therapeutic group home that:

  (a)assesses the strengths and needs of the child using an age-appropriate, evidence-based, validated, functional assessment tool;

  (b)determines whether the needs of the child can be met with family members or through placement in a youth foster home or, if not, which appropriate setting would provide the most effective and appropriate level of care for the child in the least restrictive environment and be consistent with the short-term and long-term goals for the child as specified in the child's permanency plan; and

  (c)develops a list of child-specific short-term and long-term mental and behavioral health goals. See Montana Code 41-3-102

• Treatment plan: means a written agreement between the department and the parent or guardian or a court order that includes action that must be taken to resolve the condition or conduct of the parent or guardian that resulted in the need for protective services for the child. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Withholding of medically indicated treatment: means the failure to respond to an infant's life-threatening conditions by providing treatment, including appropriate nutrition, hydration, and medication, that, in the treating physician's or physicians' reasonable medical judgment, will be most likely to be effective in ameliorating or correcting the conditions. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• youth: means any person under 18 years of age. See Montana Code 41-3-102
• Youth in need of care: means a youth who has been adjudicated or determined, after a hearing, to be or to have been abused, neglected, or abandoned. See Montana Code 41-3-102