In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires:

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1.    “A person responsible for the child’s welfare” means an individual who has responsibility for the care or supervision of a child and who is the child’s parent, an adult family member of the child, any member of the child’s household, the child’s guardian, or the child’s foster parent; or an employee of, or any person providing care for the child in, a child care setting. For the purpose of institutional child abuse or neglect, “A person responsible for the child’s welfare” means an institution that has responsibility for the care or supervision of a child.

2.    “Abused child” means an individual under the age of eighteen years who is suffering from abuse as defined in section 14-09-22 caused by a person responsible for the child’s welfare, and includes a sexually abused child who is suffering from or was subjected to any act in violation of sections 12.1-20-01 through 12.1-20-07, section 12.1-20-11 through 12.1-20-12.3, or chapter 12.1-27.2.

3.    “Alcohol misuse” means a pattern of drinking that results in harm to one’s health, interpersonal relationships, or ability to work.

4.    “Alternative response assessment” means a child protection response involving substance exposed infants which is designed to:

a.    Provide referral services to and monitor support services for a person responsible for the child’s welfare and the substance exposed infant; and

b.    Develop a plan of safe care for the substance exposed infant.

5.    “Authorized agent” means the human service zone, unless another entity is designated by the department.

6.    “Child abuse information index” means a categorized registry of subjects of reports confirmed or confirmed with unknown subjects for child abuse, neglect, or death resulting from abuse or neglect which are filed pursuant to section 50-25.1-05.2.

7.    “Child fatality review panel” means a multidisciplinary team consisting of a representative of the department and, if possible, a forensic pathologist, a physician, a representative of the department of health and human services injury prevention, a representative of the attorney general, a representative of the superintendent of public instruction, a representative of the department of corrections and rehabilitation, a peace officer licensed in the state, a mental health professional, a representative of emergency medical services, a medical services representative from a federally recognized Indian tribe in this state, one or more representatives of the lay community, and a designated tribal representative, as an ad hoc member, acting for each federally recognized Indian tribe in this state. A team member, at the time of selection and while serving on the panel, must be a staff member of the public or private agency the member represents or shall serve without remuneration. The child fatality review panel may not be composed of fewer than three individuals.

8.    “Child in need of services” means a child who in any of the following instances is in need of treatment or rehabilitation:

a.    Is habitually and without justification truant from school or absent from school without an authorized excuse for more than five days during a school year; b.    Is habitually disobedient of the reasonable and lawful commands of the child’s parent, guardian, or other custodian including runaway and is ungovernable or who is willfully in a situation that is dangerous or injurious to the health, safety, or morals of the child or others; c.    Except for an offense committed by a minor who is fourteen years of age or older under subsection 2 of section 12.1-31-03 or an equivalent local ordinance or resolution, has committed an offense applicable only to a child; or

d.    Is under fourteen years of age and has purchased, possessed, smoked, or used tobacco, a tobacco-related product, an electronic smoking device, or an alternative nicotine product in violation of subsection 2 of section 12.1-31-03. As used in this subdivision, “electronic smoking device” and “alternative nicotine product” have the same meaning as in section 12.1-31-03.

9.    “Child protection assessment” means a factfinding process designed to provide information that enables a determination of whether a child meets the definition of an abused or neglected child, including instances that may not identify a specific person responsible for the child’s welfare which is responsible for the abuse or neglect.

10.    “Children’s advocacy center” means a full or associate member of the national children‘s alliance which assists in the coordination of the investigation in response to allegations of child abuse by providing a dedicated child-friendly location at which to conduct forensic interviews, forensic medical examinations, and other appropriate services and which promotes a comprehensive multidisciplinary team response to allegations of child abuse. The team response may include forensic interviews, forensic medical examinations, mental health and related support services, advocacy, and case review.

11.    “Citizen review committee” means a committee appointed by the department to review the department’s provision of child welfare services.

12.    “Confirmed” means that upon completion of a child protection assessment, the department determines, based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that a child meets the definition of an abused or neglected child, and the department confirms the identity of a specific person responsible for the child’s welfare which is responsible for the abuse or neglect.

13.    “Confirmed with unknown subject” means that upon completion of a child protection assessment, the department determines, based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that a child meets the definition of an abused or neglected child, but the evidence does not confirm the identity of a specific person responsible for the child’s welfare which is responsible for the abuse or neglect.

14.    “Department” means the department of health and human services.

15.    “Family services assessment” means a child protection services response to reports of suspected child abuse or neglect in which the child is determined to be at low risk and safety concerns for the child are not evident according to guidelines developed by the department.

16.    “Impending danger” means a foreseeable state of danger in which a behavior, attitude, motive, emotion, or situation can be reasonably anticipated to have severe effects on a child according to criteria developed by the department.

17.    “Indicated” means that upon completion of an assessment of a report of institutional child abuse or neglect, the department determines based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that a child meets the definition of an abused or neglected child.

18.    “Institutional child abuse or neglect” means situations of known or suspected child abuse or neglect when the institution responsible for the child’s welfare is a public or private school, a residential facility or setting either licensed, certified, or approved by the department, or a residential facility or setting that receives funding from the department. For purposes of this subsection, residential facilities and settings excludes correctional, medical, home- and community-based residential rehabilitation, and educational boarding care settings.

19.    “Near death” means an act that, as certified by a physician, places a child in serious or critical condition.

20.    “Neglected child” means a child who, due to the action or inaction of a person responsible for the child’s welfare:

a.    Is without proper care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health, or morals, and is not due primarily to the lack of financial means of a person responsible for the child’s welfare; b.    Has been placed for care or adoption in violation of law; c.    Has been abandoned; d.    Is without proper care, control, or education as required by law, or other care and control necessary for the child’s well-being because of the physical, mental, emotional, or other illness or disability of a person responsible for the child’s welfare, and that such lack of care is not due to a willful act of commission or act of omission, and care is requested by a person responsible for the child’s welfare; e.    Is in need of treatment and a person responsible for the child’s welfare has refused to participate in treatment as ordered by the juvenile court; f.    Was subject to prenatal exposure to alcohol misuse or any controlled substance as defined in section 19-03.1-01 in a manner not lawfully prescribed by a practitioner; g.    Is present in an environment subjecting the child to exposure of a controlled substance, chemical substance, or drug paraphernalia as prohibited by section 19-03.1-22.2, except as used in this subsection, controlled substance includes any amount of marijuana; or

h.    Is a victim of human trafficking as defined in title 12.1.

21.    “Prenatal exposure to a controlled substance” means use of a controlled substance as defined in chapter 19-03.1 by a pregnant woman for a nonmedical purpose during pregnancy as evidenced by withdrawal symptoms in the child at birth, results of a toxicology test performed on the mother at delivery or the child at birth, or medical effects or developmental delays during the child’s first year of life that medically indicate prenatal exposure to a controlled substance.

22.    “Protective services” includes services performed after an assessment of a report of child abuse or neglect has been conducted, such as social assessment, service planning, implementation of service plans, treatment services, referral services, coordination with referral sources, progress assessment, monitoring service delivery, and direct services.

23. “State child protection team” means a multidisciplinary team consisting of a representative of the department, a representative of the attorney general, a representative of law enforcement, a representative of the superintendent of public instruction, a parent with lived experience, one or more representatives of the lay community, and, as an ad hoc member, the designee of the chief executive official of any institution named in a report of institutional abuse or neglect. All team members, at the time of their selection and thereafter, must be staff members of the public or private agency they represent or shall serve without remuneration. An attorney member of the child protection team may not be appointed to represent the child or the parents at any subsequent court proceeding nor may the child protection team be composed of fewer than three individuals. A quorum of the state child protection team consists of a minimum of one member from the department and two other state child protection team members.

24.    “Substance exposed infant” means an infant younger than twelve months of age at the time of the initial report of child abuse or neglect and who is identified as being affected by substance use or withdrawal symptoms or by a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

25.    “Substance use disorder” means a substance-related or addictive disorder identified in the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”, American psychiatric association, fifth edition, text revision (2013), or a future edition adopted by the department.

26.    “Unable to determine” means insufficient evidence is available to enable a determination whether a child meets the definition of an abused or neglected child.

    27.    “Unconfirmed” means that upon completion of a child protection assessment, the department has determined, based upon a preponderance of the evidence, that a child does not meet the definition of an abused or neglected child.