Definitions.

  1. Law
  2. Oklahoma Statutes
  3. Children
  4. Definitions.

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As used in the Group Homes for Persons with Developmental or Physical Disabilities Act:

1. "Abuse" as defined by the Protective Services for Vulnerable Adults Act means causing or permitting:

  • a.the infliction of physical pain, injury, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, unreasonable restraint or confinement, or mental anguish, or
  • b.the deprivation of nutrition, clothing, shelter, health care, or other care or services without which serious physical or mental injury is likely to occur to a vulnerable adult by a caretaker or other person providing services to a vulnerable adult;

2. "Access" means the right of a person to enter a group home to communicate privately and without unreasonable restriction;

3. "Administrator" means the person designated by the provider who has authority and responsibility for the programs and operation of a group home;

4. "Advisory Board" means the Group Homes for Persons with Developmental or Physical Disabilities Advisory Board established by Section 1430.4 of this title;

5. "Advocate" means an adult designated in writing selected by the resident to assist the resident in exercising the rights of such resident;

6. "Applicant" means a person, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, or other entity which is being considered by the Department of Human Services for a license with the Department to provide group home services;

7. “Case manager” means a staff member who is responsible for ensuring that services to a resident are planned and provided in a coordinated fashion;

8. "Commission" means the Commission for Human Services;

9. "Contract" means the binding legal agreement to provide group home services, entered into between the provider and the Developmental Disabilities Services Division of the Department of Human Services or the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA);

10. "DDSD" means the Developmental Disabilities Services Division of the Department of Human Services;

11. "Department" means the Department of Human Services;

12. "Developmental disability" means a severely chronic disability of a person which:

  • a.is attributable to a physical or mental impairment or a combination of physical and mental impairments,
  • b.is manifested before the person attains the age of twenty-two (22) years,
  • c.is likely to continue indefinitely,
  • d.results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life activity:
    • (1)self-care,
    • (2)receptive and expressive language,
    • (3)learning,
    • (4)mobility,
    • (5)self-direction,
    • (6)capacity for independent living, or
    • (7)economic self-sufficiency, and
  • e.reflects the need of the person for a combination and sequence of special interdisciplinary or generic care, treatment or other services which are of lifelong or extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated;

13. "Director" means the Director of Human Services;

14. "Exploitation" means the unjust or improper use of the resources of a group home resident for the profit or advantage, pecuniary or otherwise, of a person other than the group home resident through the use of undue influence, coercion, harassment, duress, deception, false representation, or false pretense, as defined by the Protective Services for Vulnerable Adults Act;

15. "Group home for persons with developmental or physical disabilities" means any establishment for not more than twelve residents who are eighteen (18) years of age or older and who have developmental or physical disabilities, which offers or provides supervision, residential accommodations, food service, and training and skill development opportunities designed to lead to increased independence of the residents and which offers or provides supportive assistance to any of its residents requiring supportive assistance;

16. "Guardian" means a court-appointed representative or conservator;

17. "Habilitation" means services designed to assist individuals in acquiring, retaining, and improving the self-help, socialization, and adaptive skills necessary to reside successfully in home and community-based settings;

18. "Home" or "group home" means a group home for persons with developmental or physical disabilities;

19. “Indecent exposure” means forcing or requiring a resident to:

  • a.look upon the body or private parts of another person or look upon sexual acts performed in the presence of the resident, or
  • b.touch or feel the body or private parts of another;

20. "Licensee" means a person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or association who is the operator of a home which is licensed pursuant to the provisions of the Group Homes for Persons with Developmental or Physical Disabilities Act;

21. "Neglect" as defined by the Protective Services for Vulnerable Adults Act means:

  • a.the failure to provide protection for a group home resident who is unable to protect his or her own interests,
  • b.the failure to provide adequate shelter, nutrition, health care, or clothing, or
  • c.negligent acts or omissions that result in harm or the unreasonable risk of harm to a vulnerable adult through the action, inaction, or lack of supervision by a caretaker providing direct services;

22. "Physical disability" means a condition which causes the restricted use of the extremities by an individual or affects other bodily functions of an individual and which requires the specialized training, habilitation or rehabilitation services provided by a group home;

23. “Program coordinator” means a person employed by a provider or a licensee who is responsible for the supervision, coordination, and monitoring of services to a resident receiving services provided by the provider or licensee;

24. "Provider" means a person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, or other entity that contracts with the Developmental Disabilities Services Division of the Department of Human Services or the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to operate a group home for persons with developmental or physical disabilities;

25. "Resident" means a person receiving services in a group home for persons with developmental or physical disabilities;

26. “Sexual abuse” as defined in the Protective Services for Vulnerable Adults Act means:

  • a.oral, anal, or vaginal penetration of a resident by or through the union with the sexual organ of a caretaker or other person providing services to the resident, or the anal or vaginal penetration of a resident by a caretaker or other person providing services to the resident with any other object,
  • b.for the purpose of sexual gratification, the touching, feeling, or observation of the body or private parts of a resident by a caretaker or other person providing services to the resident, or
  • c.indecent exposure by a caretaker or other person providing services to the resident;

27. “Sexual exploitation” as defined in the Protective Services for Vulnerable Adults Act includes, but is not limited to, a caretaker causing, allowing, permitting, or encouraging a resident to engage in prostitution, or in the lewd, obscene, or pornographic photographing, filming, or depiction of the resident as those acts are defined by state law;

28. "Supervision" means the provision of on-site staffing in the group home or on the premises of the group home when a resident is present who requires on-site staffing, as determined by the team of the resident. Supervision also includes provision of necessary staff support, as documented in the individual plan of each service recipient, when the service recipient is in the community, except when the service recipient is engaged in employment, vocational services, or adult day services;

29. "Supportive assistance" means the service rendered to a service recipient which is sufficient to enable the service recipient to meet an adequate level of daily living. Supportive assistance includes, but is not limited to, training and supervision of service recipients, assistance in housekeeping, assistance in the preparation of meals, and assistance in activities of daily living as necessary for the health and comfort of service recipients;

30. "Transfer" means a change in location of living arrangements of a resident from one group home to another group home;

31. “Team” means the group of people responsible for service planning, implementation, and monitoring of the individual plan. The team includes:

  • a.the person receiving services,
  • b.the case manager of the person receiving services, if applicable,
  • c.the legal guardian of the person receiving services, if the service recipient has a legal guardian,
  • d.the advocate(s) of the person receiving services, if there is an advocate, who may be a parent, family member, friend, or another who knows the service recipient well,
  • e.the program coordinator or designee, and
  • f.any other person whose participation is necessary to achieve the outcomes included in the individual plan; and

32. “Verbal abuse” as defined in the Protective Services for Vulnerable Adults Act means the use of words, sounds, or other communication including, but not limited to, gestures, actions or behaviors, by a caretaker or other person providing services to a resident that is likely to cause a reasonable person to experience humiliation, intimidation, fear, shame, or degradation.

Added by Laws 1987, c. 225, § 2, eff. July 1, 1987. Amended by Laws 1988, c. 233, § 1, operative July 1, 1988; Laws 1993, c. 159, § 14, eff. July 1, 1993; Laws 1994, c. 236, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Laws 1996, c. 155, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1996; Laws 1996, c. 354, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1996. Renumbered from § 1-818.2 of Title 63 by Laws 1996, c. 354, § 56, eff. Nov. 1, 1996. Amended by Laws 2006, c. 137, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2006.


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