65C-14.001. Definitions (Transferred)

(1) “At-Risk house” means a child-caring agency providing care and support services to children and youth who are at risk of becoming sex trafficking victims.

(2) “Campus” means a characteristic describing a child-caring agency that has multiple buildings, units, or cottages on the same property.

(3) “Child or youth at risk of sex trafficking” means an individual who has experienced trauma, such as abuse, neglect, and/or maltreatment, and presents with one or more of the accompanying risk factors:

a. History of running away and/or homelessness.

b. History of sexual abuse and/or sexually acting out behavior.

c. Inappropriate interpersonal and/or social media boundaries.

d. Family history of or exposure to human trafficking.

e. Out-of-home placement instability demonstrated by repeated moves from less restrictive levels of care.

(4) “Child-caring agency,” as defined in this rule chapter, means a child-caring institute licensed by the Department to provide care and supervision to children and youth in a group home, facility, shelter, treatment program, or wilderness camp.

(5) “Direct care staff” means personnel who are employed, contracted, or volunteer as a caregiver or have unsupervised contact with children.

(6) “Emergency shelter” means a child-caring agency that provides 24-hour care and supervision for youth in need of shelter on a temporary basis.

(7) “Facility” means the building and campus of a residential child-caring agency, as defined by Section 409.175(2), F.S.

(8) “Florida Association of Christian Child-Caring Agencies (FACCCA)” means the authority responsible for the registration and oversight of faith-based residential group homes, family foster homes, and adoption agencies.

(9) “Gender” or “gender identity” means a person’s internal identification or self-image as male or female. Gender identity may or may not correspond to the gender that is listed on the person’s birth certificate. The terms “male,” “female,” or “nonbinary” describe how a person identifies.

(10) “Gender expression” refers to the way a person expresses gender through appearance, dress, grooming habits, mannerisms and other characteristics.

(11) “Governing body” means the board of trustees, the partnership, the corporation, the association, or the person or group of persons who maintain and control the provider organization and which is legally responsible for the operation of the child-caring agency.

(12) “Inappropriate,” for the purpose of this rule chapter, means behaviors assessed by the child welfare professional that are determined to be not suitable based on the child’s age and may cause harm to one’s self.

(13) “Maternity home” means a child-caring agency that provides care and specialized support for prenatal, post-partum, or parenting youth.

(14) “Non-direct care staff” means personnel who are employed, contracted, or volunteer in positions that are not in a caregiver role and do not have direct or unsupervised contact with children.

(15) “Public institution” means a child-caring agency owned or run by the County, State, or Federal Government that provides 24-hour care.

(16) “Residential group home” means a child-caring agency that provides care to meet the physical, emotional, and social needs of children.

(17) “Runaway shelter” means a child-caring agency that provides 24-hour care and supervison for children who are in conflict with their parents or who runaway or are recovered from a missing child episode.

(18) “Safe house” means a child-caring agency certified by the Department that provides 24-hour care and supervision to care for sexually exploited children, as outlined in Section 409.1678, F.S.

(19) “Service Plan” means the goal-oriented, time limited, individualized program of action for a child and the child’s family developed by the child-caring agency in cooperation with the child’s family.

(20) “Sexual orientation” means a person’s emotional or physical attraction to members of the same gender, a different gender, or any gender.

(21) “24-hour care and supervision,” as used in this rule chapter, means a child-caring agency whose staffing model provides 24-hour supervision for children based on the program’s required staffing ratio, also known as shift care.

(22) “Traditional group home” means a child-caring agency that provides care to meet the physical, emotional, and social needs of children. A traditional group home is located in a single family or multi-family community with a licensed bed capacity no greater than 14.

(23) “Transgender” means having a gender identity that is different than the person’s gender listed on the person’s birth certificate.

(24) “Trauma-informed” means an organizational structure and treatment framework that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma.

(25) “Treatment Plan” means an individualized, structured, and goal-oriented schedule of services with measurable objectives. A treatment plan details the treatment to be provided and expected outcome, and expected duration of the treatment.

(26) “Unaccompanied alien children home (UAC),” as defined in this rule chapter, means a child-caring agency that provides care for unaccompanied alien minors, as outlined in rule Chapter 65C-9, F.A.C. 

(27) “Unaccompanied refugee minor program (URMP)” means a federally funded and state administered program that provides care of unaccompanied refugee minors, as further defined in Rule 65F-1.001, F.A.C.

(28) “Qualified residential treatment program (QRTP)” means a licensed therapeutic group home with a child-caring agency credential that provides care for youth who have serious emotional or behavioral disorders or disturbances.

(29) “Wilderness camp” means a child-caring agency that provides care to meet the physical, emotional, and social needs of children.

Rulemaking Authority 409.175(5) FS. Law Implemented 409.175(5) FS. History–New 7-1-87, Amended 9-19-90, Formerly 10M-9.003, Amended 11-30-97, 10-20-16, 5-26-21.