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260B.007 Definitions.

Subdivision 1. Scope. As used in this chapter, the terms defined in this section have the same meanings given to them.

Subd. 2. Agency. "Agency" means the local social services agency or a licensed child-placing agency.

Subd. 3. Child. "Child" means an individual under 18 years of age and includes any minor alleged to have been delinquent or a juvenile traffic offender prior to having become 18 years of age.

Subd. 4. Child-placing agency. "Child-placing agency" means anyone licensed under sections 245A.01 to 245A.16 and 252.28, subdivision 2.

Subd. 5. Court. "Court" means juvenile court unless otherwise specified in this section.

Subd. 6. Delinquent child. (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), "delinquent child" means a child:

(1) who has violated any state or local law, except as provided in section 260B.225, subdivision 1, and except for juvenile offenders as described in subdivisions 16 to 18;

(2) who has violated a federal law or a law of another state and whose case has been referred to the juvenile court if the violation would be an act of delinquency if committed in this state or a crime or offense if committed by an adult;

(3) who has escaped from confinement to a state juvenile correctional facility after being committed to the custody of the commissioner of corrections; or

(4) who has escaped from confinement to a local juvenile correctional facility after being committed to the facility by the court.

(b) The term delinquent child does not include a child alleged to have committed murder in the first degree after becoming 16 years of age, but the term delinquent child does include a child alleged to have committed attempted murder in the first degree.

Subd. 7. Foster care. "Foster care" means the 24 hour a day care of a child in any facility which for gain or otherwise regularly provides one or more children, when unaccompanied by their parents, with a substitute for the care, food, lodging, training, education, supervision or treatment they need but which for any reason cannot be furnished by their parents or legal guardians in their homes.

Subd. 8. Legal custody. "Legal custody" means the right to the care, custody, and control of a child who has been taken from a parent by the court in accordance with the provisions of sections 260B.198 and 260B.235. The expenses of legal custody are paid in accordance with the provisions of section 260B.331.

Subd. 9. Minor. "Minor" means an individual under 18 years of age.

Subd. 10. Parent. "Parent" means the birth or adoptive parent of a minor. For an Indian child, parent includes any Indian person who has adopted a child by tribal law or custom, as provided in section 260.755, subdivision 14.

Subd. 11. Person. "Person" includes any individual, association, corporation, partnership, and the state or any of its political subdivisions, departments, or agencies.

Subd. 12. Relative. "Relative" means a parent, stepparent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, or aunt of the minor. This relationship may be by blood or marriage. For an Indian child, relative includes members of the extended family as defined by the law or custom of the Indian child's tribe or, in the absence of laws or custom, nieces, nephews, or first or second cousins, as provided in the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, United States Code, title 25, section 1903.

Subd. 13. Custodian. "Custodian" means any person who is under a legal obligation to provide care and support for a minor or who is in fact providing care and support for a minor. This subdivision does not impose upon persons who are not otherwise legally responsible for providing a child with necessary food, clothing, shelter, education, or medical care a duty to provide that care. For an Indian child, custodian means any Indian person who has legal custody of an Indian child under tribal law or custom or under state law or to whom temporary physical care, custody, and control has been transferred by the parent of the child, as provided in section 260.755, subdivision 11.

Subd. 14. Secure detention facility. "Secure detention facility" means a physically restricting facility, including but not limited to a jail, a hospital, a state institution, a residential treatment center, or a detention home used for the temporary care of a child pending court action.

Subd. 15. Shelter care facility. "Shelter care facility" means a physically unrestricting facility, such as, but not limited to, a hospital, a group home, or a licensed facility for foster care, used for the temporary care of a child pending court action.

Subd. 16. Juvenile petty offender; juvenile petty offense. (a) "Juvenile petty offense" includes a juvenile alcohol offense, a juvenile controlled substance offense, a violation of section 609.685, or a violation of a local ordinance, which by its terms prohibits conduct by a child under the age of 18 years which would be lawful conduct if committed by an adult.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c), "juvenile petty offense" also includes an offense that would be a misdemeanor if committed by an adult.

(c) "Juvenile petty offense" does not include any of the following:

(1) a misdemeanor-level violation of section 588.20, 609.224, 609.2242, 609.324, 609.563, 609.576, 609.66, or 617.23;

(2) a major traffic offense or an adult court traffic offense, as described in section 260B.225;

(3) a misdemeanor-level offense committed by a child whom the juvenile court previously has found to have committed a misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, or felony offense; or

(4) a misdemeanor-level offense committed by a child whom the juvenile court has found to have committed a misdemeanor-level juvenile petty offense on two or more prior occasions, unless the county attorney designates the child on the petition as a juvenile petty offender notwithstanding this prior record. As used in this clause, "misdemeanor-level juvenile petty offense" includes a misdemeanor-level offense that would have been a juvenile petty offense if it had been committed on or after July 1, 1995.

(d) A child who commits a juvenile petty offense is a "juvenile petty offender."

Subd. 17. Juvenile alcohol offense. "Juvenile alcohol offense" means a violation by a child of any provision of section 340A.503 or an equivalent local ordinance.

Subd. 18. Juvenile controlled substance offense. "Juvenile controlled substance offense" means a violation by a child of section 152.027, subdivision 4, with respect to a small amount of marijuana or an equivalent local ordinance.

Subd. 19. Indian. "Indian," consistent with section 260.755, subdivision 7, means a person who is a member of an Indian tribe or who is an Alaskan native and a member of a regional corporation as defined in section 7 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, United States Code, title 43, section 1606.

Subd. 20. Indian child. "Indian child," consistent with section 260.755, subdivision 8, means an unmarried person who is under age 18 and is:

(1) a member of an Indian tribe; or

(2) eligible for membership in an Indian tribe.

HIST: 1999 c 139 art 2 s 3; 2000 c 260 s 33

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Revisor of Statutes