Frequently Used Terms

A&N (A/N)

Abuse and neglect

ADD

Attention Deficit Disorder:  Children with ADD are easily distracted, impulsive, have a short attention span, and have difficulty concentrating. 

AFDC

Aid to Families with Dependent Children:  Now known as TANF.  (See TANF)

ADHD     

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder:  Children with ADHD have the same symptoms as those with ADD with the addition of hyperactivity.

Adj.          

Adjudication:  The court proceeding in which it is determined whether the allegations of the petition(s) are supported by legally admissible evidence.  A finding of abuse or neglect must be made.  (Same as a trial in criminal proceedings).

AREVA   

Adoption Resource Exchange of VA:  Maintains a registry and photo-listing of children and families waiting for adoption.

CAFAS   

Child Adolescent Family Assessment Scale:  An assessment tool used by Social Services to determine whether a child is eligible for various services, i.e. family, educational, psychological.

CANIS    

Child Abuse and Neglect Information System:  Information system to which local Departments of Social Services report all founded and unfounded cases of abuse and neglect.  Unfounded cases are kept in CANIS and are only for the use of Social Service agencies.  Unfounded cases must be purged after one year. Founded cases are kept in the Central Registry which is a part of CANIS.

CAPTA

Child Abuse and Prevention Treatment Act [PL (Public Law) 104-235, 1974]:  Expanded the spectrum of reportable child abuse behaviors to include physical abuse, sexual exploitation, and emotional neglect; created the National Center on Child Abuse & Neglect; earmarked federal funds for states to establish special programs for child victims of abuse and neglect; and mandated the appointment of a guardian ad litem (G.A.L.)

CCC        

Colonial Community Corrections (See Agency Listing)

CDR

Child Development Resources (See Agency Listing).

CHINS    

Child in need of services:  A child whose behavior, conduct, or condition presents or results in a serious threat to the well-being and physical safety of the child; however, no child who in good faith is under treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination shall for that reason alone be considered to be a child in need of services, nor shall any child who habitually remains away from or habitually deserts or abandons his family as a result of what the court or the local child protective services unit determines to be incidents of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse in the home be considered a child in need of services for that reason alone.

However, to find that a child falls within these provisions, (i) the conduct complained of must present a clear and substantial danger to the child's life or health or (ii) the child or his family is in need of treatment, rehabilitation, or services not presently being received, and (iii) the intervention of the court is essential to provide the treatment, rehabilitation, or services needed by the child or his family.

CHINSUP                 

Child in need of supervision:

1. A child who, while subject to compulsory school attendance, is habitually and without justification absent from school, and (i) the child has been offered an adequate opportunity to receive the benefit of any and all educational services and programs that are required to be provided by law and which meet the child's particular educational needs, (ii) the school system from which the child is absent or other appropriate agency has made a reasonable effort to effect the child's regular attendance without success, and (iii) the school system has provided documentation that it has complied with the provisions of § 22.1-258; or

2. A child who, without reasonable cause and without the consent of his parent, lawful custodian, or placement authority, remains away from or deserts or abandons his family or lawful custodian on more than one occasion or escapes or remains away without proper authority from a residential care facility in which he has been placed by the court, and (i) such conduct presents a clear and substantial danger to the child's life or health, (ii) the child or his family is in need of treatment, rehabilitation, or services not presently being received, and (iii) the intervention of the court is essential to provide the treatment, rehabilitation, or services needed by the child or his family.

CHIP       

Comprehensive Health Investment Project (See Agency Listing).

CMH       

Colonial Mental Health (See Agency Listing).

CPMT

Community Policy & Management Team:  Appointed by the local governing body and shall include, at a minimum, at least one elected official or appointed official or his designee from the governing body of a locality which is a member of the team, and the local agency heads or their designees of the following community agencies: community services board, juvenile court services unit, department of health, department of social services and the local school division. The team shall also include a representative of a private organization or association of providers for children's or family services if such organizations or associations are located within the locality, and a parent representative. (Foster parents may serve as parent representatives). Those persons appointed to represent community agencies shall be authorized to make policy and funding decisions for their agencies.  The team shall manage the cooperative effort in each community to better serve the needs of troubled and at-risk youths and their families and to maximize the use of state and community resources. Every such team shall:

1. Develop interagency policies and procedures to govern the provision of services to children and families in its community;

2. Develop interagency fiscal policies governing access to the state pool of funds by the eligible populations including immediate access to funds for emergency services and shelter care;

3. Establish policies to assess the ability of parents or legal guardians to contribute financially to the cost of services to be provided and, when not specifically prohibited by federal or state law or regulation, provide for appropriate parental or legal guardian financial contribution, utilizing a standard sliding fee scale based upon ability to pay;

4. Coordinate long-range, community-wide planning which ensures the development of resources and services needed by children and families in its community including consultation on the development of a community-based system of services;

5. Establish policies governing referrals and reviews of children and families to the family assessment and planning teams and a process to review the teams' recommendations and requests for funding;

6. Establish quality assurance and accountability procedures for program utilization and funds management;

7. Establish procedures for obtaining bids on the development of new services;

8. Manage funds in the interagency budget allocated to the community from the state pool of funds, the trust fund, and any other source;

9. Authorize and monitor the expenditure of funds by each family assessment and planning team;

10. Have authority to submit grant proposals which benefit its community to the state trust fund and to enter into contracts for the provision or operation of services upon approval of the participating governing bodies;

11. Serve as its community's liaison to the state management team, reporting on its programmatic and fiscal operations and on its recommendations for improving the service system, including consideration of realignment of geographical boundaries for providing human services;

12. Collect and provide uniform data to the State Executive Council on, but not limited to, expenditures, number of youth served in specific Comprehensive Services Act (CSA) activities, length of stay for residents in core licensed residential facilities, and proportion of youth placed in treatment settings suggested by a uniform assessment instrument for CSA-funded services; and

13. Have the power to administer funds. The state pool shall consist of funds which serve the following target populations:

a. Children placed for purposes of special education in approved private school educational programs, previously funded by the Department of Education through private tuition assistance;

b. Children with disabilities placed by local social services agencies or the Department of Juvenile Justice in private residential facilities or across jurisdictional lines in private, special education day schools, if the individualized education program indicates such school is the appropriate placement while living in foster homes or child-caring facilities, previously funded by the Department of Education through the Interagency Assistance Fund for Noneducational Placements of Handicapped Children;

c. Children for whom foster care services are being provided to prevent foster care placements, and children placed through parental agreements, entrusted to local social service agencies by their parents or guardians or committed to the agencies by any court of competent jurisdiction for purposes of placement in suitable family homes, child-caring institutions, residential facilities or independent living arrangements.

d. Children placed by a juvenile and domestic relations district court in a private or locally operated public facility or nonresidential program; and

e. Children committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice and placed by it in a private home or in a public or private facility.

In order to be eligible for funding for services through the state pool of funds, a youth, or family with a child, shall meet one or more of the following criteria and shall be determined through the use of a uniform assessment instrument and process and by policies of the community policy and management team to have access to these funds.

1. The child or youth has emotional or behavior problems which:

a. Have persisted over a significant period of time or, though only in evidence for a short period of time, are of such a critical nature that intervention is warranted;

b. Are significantly disabling and are present in several community settings, such as at home, in school or with peers; and

c. Require services or resources that are unavailable or inaccessible, or that are beyond the normal agency services or routine collaborative processes across agencies, or require coordinated interventions by at least two agencies.

2. The child or youth has emotional or behavior problems, or both, and currently is in, or is at imminent risk of entering, purchased residential care. In addition, the child or youth requires services or resources that are beyond normal agency services or routine collaborative processes across agencies, and requires coordinated services by at least two agencies.

3. The child or youth requires placement for purposes of special education in approved private school educational programs.

4. The child or youth has been placed in foster care through a parental agreement between a local social services agency or public agency designated by the community policy and management team and his parents or guardians, entrusted to a local social services agency by his parents or guardian or has been committed to the agency by a court of competent jurisdiction for the purposes of placement.

For purposes of determining eligibility for the state pool of funds, "child" or "youth" means (i) a person less than eighteen years of age and (ii) any individual through twenty-one years of age who is otherwise eligible for mandated services of the participating state agencies including special education and foster care services.

CPS         

Child Protective Services:  Division of the Department of Social Services that investigates cases of abuse and neglect.

CSB        

Colonial Services Board (See Agency Listing)

CST         

Child Study Team:  [in the school system] A team comprised of various school personnel who determines whether a child is eligible for various educational services and/or programs.

DCSE

Department of Child Support Enforcement

DD           

Developmentally Disabled

Disp.        

Disposition:  The court order of the Juvenile and Domestic (J & DR) Court which determines a treatment plan for the child, already proven to be abused or neglected at the adjudication.

EC            

Eligibility Conference:  [in the school system] Conference where educational services and/or programs are approved for a child based on recommendations of the Child Study Team.

ED            

Emotionally Disturbed.  A special education designation.

EMR        

Educable Mental Retardation. A special education designation.

ER            

Emergency Removal

ERO        

Emergency Removal Order

FAPE       

Free Appropriate Public Education:  An individually designed special education program and related services that meet the child’s unique needs and prepare him/her for employment or independent living.  Related services may include transportation; occupational and physical therapy; counseling; parent training; recreation; social work services; speech and language therapy; school health services; and orientation and mobility services.  (See IDEA)

FAPT

Family Assessment Planning Team: The family assessment and planning team shall assess the strengths and needs of troubled youths and families who are approved for referral to the team and identify and determine the complement of services required to meet these unique needs.

Each community policy and management team shall establish and appoint one or more family assessment and planning teams as the needs of the community require. Each family assessment and planning team shall include representatives of the following community agencies who have authority to access services within their respective agencies: community services board, juvenile court services unit, department of health, department of social services, local school division and a parent representative. (Foster parents may serve as parent representatives).   A CASA representative is also included on our local FAPT.  The family assessment and planning team may include a representative of a private organization or association of providers for children's or family services and of other public agencies.  Persons who serve on a family assessment and planning team shall be immune from any civil liability for decisions made about the appropriate services for a family or the proper placement or treatment of a child who comes before the team, unless it is proven that such person acted with malicious intent.

Every such team, in accordance with policies developed by the community policy and management team, shall:

1. Review referrals of youths and families to the team;

2. Provide for family participation in all aspects of assessment, planning and implementation of services;

3. Develop an individual family services plan for youths and families reviewed by the team which provides for appropriate and cost-effective services;

4. Where parental or legal guardian financial contribution is not specifically prohibited by federal or state law or regulation, or has not been ordered by the court or by the Division of Child Support Enforcement, assess the ability of parents or legal guardians, utilizing a standard sliding fee scale, based upon ability to pay, to contribute financially to the cost of services to be provided and provide for appropriate financial contribution from parents or legal guardians in the individual family services plan;

5. Refer the youth and family to community agencies and resources in accordance with the individual family services plan;

6. Recommend to the community policy and management team expenditures from the local allocation of the state pool of funds (See CPMT); and

7. Designate a person who is responsible for monitoring and reporting, as appropriate, on the progress being made in fulfilling the individual family services plan developed for each youth and family, such reports to be made to the team or the responsible local agencies.

504 Plan                

(Section of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973) Some students who are not eligible for special education assistance may be eligible for a 504 Plan.  Eligibility is based on impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities such as caring for oneself, performing manual talks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working (i.e. a student who misses a great deal of school due to asthma).  It is similar to an IEP; however, there are no federal funds provided.

FC            

Foster Care

FCP         

Foster Care Plan

FCR         

Foster Care Review

4-E           

See Title IV-E

G.A.L.     

Guardian ad Litem:  The appointed legal representative of a child who is a victim of abuse and/or neglect and is involved in a court proceeding.

HI             

Hearing Impaired. A special education designation.

IDEA       

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act:  Applies to children from birth to 21 years of age and requires that children with disabilities be provided a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE) in the “least restrictive environment” (LRE).  “Child with disability” means a child with mental retardation; hearing, speech or language, visual, or orthopedic impairment; serious emotional disturbance; autism; traumatic brain injury; or a specific learning disability.

IEP           

Individual Education Plan:  The blueprint for student’s special education.  The plan is put together by an IEP team which includes the parents or surrogate parent; a regular education teacher; a special education teacher; a representative of the local education agency who has authority to agree to services; a person who can interpret evaluation results; and other people requested by the parents or agency.  The IEP teams reviews the child’s current educational performance level.  This includes the child’s strengths, areas of improvement, and the parents’ areas of concern.  Next, the team sets up short and long-term goals.  Based on the identified goals and objectives, the team decides what special education and related services the child needs.  The IEP must include specific information, including services to be provided; number of hours per week the student is to receive each service; description of any regular education services the student will receive; when services will start and end; and how educational progress will be evaluated.  Once the team gathers, this information, it identifies an appropriate placement.  The IEP must also include any assistive technology services and devices needed by the child, and must note if the student needs extended school year services (services provided during the summer to students who need them to continue to make educational progress during the school year).  The IEP should also state whether the child’s problem is such that the regular disciplinary code needs to be modified so the child is only disciplined for inappropriate behavior he/she cannot control, and whether the child participates in regular standardized testing.

JCC         

James City County

JCC DSS or JCCS

James City County Department of Social Services (See Agency Listing)

J & DR   

Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court

LD

Learning Disabled.  A special education designation.

LEA

Local Educational Agency

LRE         

Least Restrictive Environment

OASIS    

Online Automated Service Information System:  New database system used by Departments of Social Services.  (Similar to CANIS)

OHI

Other Health Impaired:  A special education designation.  Limited strength, vitality or alertness, due to chronic or acute health problems such as heart condition, tuberculosis, epilepsy, etc. which adversely affects a child’s educational performance. 

OI

Orthopedically Impaired:  A special education designation.  A severe orthopedic impairment which adversely affects a child's educational performance. 

PADDA  

Peninsula Attention Deficit Disorder Association (See Agency Listing)

PL-94-142

The Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975:  Renamed IDEA in 1990.  (See IDEA)

Perm. Pl.

Permanency Plan

PO

Protective Order

PPO

Preliminary Protective Order

PR

Preliminary Removal

PRO

Preliminary Removal Order

SAP

Student Assistance Plan:  For students who do not meet the eligibility requirements for special education but to have specific needs.  Unlike an IEP, this plan is not legally binding.

SED         

Serious Emotional Disturbance:  A condition characterized by one or more of the following over a long period of time and to a marked degree which adversely affects educational performance:

• An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
• An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
• Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
• A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
• A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
• Presence of schizophrenia.

SLD

Specific Learning Disability:   disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematical calculations which adversely affects the child’s educational performance.  The term may include such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.  The term does not include children who have learning problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor handicaps; of mental retardation; of emotional disturbance; or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

SSI          

Supplemental Security Income:  SSI program is a legal entitlement for low-income children whose disability is sever enough to meet Social Security standards.  To be eligible to receive benefits a child must be disabled, meet certain residence requirements, have citizenship or qualified alien status, and meet financial resource and financial income qualifications.  When deciding if a child is disabled, Social Security looks at how his or her disability affects everyday life.  A child must have a marked and severe functioning limitation from a physical or mental condition.  These conditions include Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, cerebral palsy, sickle cell anemia, spina bifida, mental retardation, autism, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, plus many other conditions that are severe enough to disable a child or adolescent.  Social Security will also look at how the child functions in various specific areas, depending on age – how he/she communicates, concentrates, engages in self-care and physical activities, and interacts with others.  Children who are eligible for SSI are usually eligible for Medicaid and food stamps.

TANF      

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families: The TANF Program shall be administered by the Department of Social Services in compliance with Titles IV-A and IV-F of the United States Social Security Act and related federal regulations.  A person shall be eligible for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) if that person:

1. Has not attained the age of eighteen years, or, if regularly attending a secondary school or in the equivalent level of vocational or technical training, has not attained the age of nineteen years and is reasonably expected to complete his senior year of school prior to attaining age nineteen;

2. Is a resident of Virginia;

3. Is living with his father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, stepsister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, or niece in a place of residence maintained by one or more of such relatives as his or their own home or is in placement under conditions specified by the State Board;

4. Is in need of public assistance; and

5. If under the age of eighteen years, is in compliance with compulsory school attendance laws. Prior to imposing a sanction of benefits, the appropriate local department staff shall make reasonable efforts to discuss with the parent or caretaker, by personal contact which may include direct telephone contact, a plan to return the child to school. If such efforts fail, the local department shall mail a written advance notice of proposed action to the parent or caretaker advising that benefits may be reduced if the parent or caretaker fails to contact the agency to develop a plan to return the child to school.

TANF shall be provided to needy two-parent families on the same terms and conditions that TANF is provided to single-parent families.

TBI          

Traumatic Brain Injury:  A special education designation.  An acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

TDO        

Temporary Detention Order:  Issued by a Judge if there is probable cause to believe that the subject is:

• Mentally ill and is need of hospitalization, and presents an imminent danger to self or others or is so seriously mentally ill as to be substantially unable to care for self, and is incapable of volunteering or unwilling to volunteer for treatment.
• A juvenile who is mentally ill and is need of hospitalization, and presents an imminent danger to self or others or is so seriously mentally ill as to be substantially unable to care for self, and is incapable of volunteering or unwilling to volunteer for treatment.
• A defendant in custody and awaiting trial and is mentally ill and is need of hospitalization, and presents an imminent danger to self or others or is so seriously mentally ill as to be substantially unable to care for self.
• A defendant who has been convicted of a crime but not yet sentenced and is mentally ill and is need of hospitalization, and presents an imminent danger to self or others or is so seriously mentally ill as to be substantially unable to care for self.
• A defendant who is in the custody of a local correctional facility after having been sentenced for a crime and is mentally ill and is need of hospitalization, and presents an imminent danger to self or others or is so seriously mentally ill as to be substantially unable to care for self.
• An acquittee on conditional release, and has violated the conditions of release or is no longer a proper subject for conditional release, and requires emergency evaluation to asses the need for inpatient hospitalization
• Currently in a juvenile detention or shelter care facility.

Title IV-E

A subsection of the Social Security Act that provides federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance to states which meet the federal requirements.  These federal matching funds of 50-80% are given to states which directly administer the program and are dependent upon the state’s per capita income.

TPR

Termination of Parental Rights:  A legal action which terminates forever any and all rights that a parent has with regard to their biological child/ren.  This action takes place in J & DR Court and is a prerequisite to adoption (unless, of course, the parent voluntarily relinquishes parental rights.

VI

Visually Impaired:  A special education designation.  A visual impairment which, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance.  The term includes both partially seeing and blind children.

VIEW      

Virginia Initiative for Employment, not Welfare:  The work component of the Virginia Independence Program (VIP) that requires recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) to work in exchange for their public assistance check.  This is the welfare reform program that replaces traditional AFDC benefits in Virginia.  It incorporates a comprehensive approach to the development of jobs which offers job seekers the opportunity of employment and employment-related training.  It is a collaborative effort by business and civic leaders, departments of social services, VIEW job seekers, and private citizens to implement welfare reform in Virginia.  The initiative is designed to:

• Better prepare VIEW job seekers for employment through job readiness training.
• Expand employment opportunities for VIEW job seekers.
• Provide economic development through job creation and adding to the existing tax base.
• Encourage job development.
• Stimulate business partnerships with the community.

VIP

Virginia Independence Program:  A component of VIEW.  The goals of the program are to:

• Offer Virginians living in poverty the opportunity to achieve economic independence by removing barriers and disincentives to work and providing positive incentives to work;
• Provide families living in poverty with the opportunities and work skills necessary for self-sufficiency;
• Allow families living in poverty to contribute materially to their own self-sufficiency;
• Set out the responsibilities of and expectations for recipients of public assistance and the government; and
• Provide families living in poverty with the opportunity to obtain work experience through VIEW.

VPRJ

Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail

WJCC

Williamsburg/James City County