Statutes: Virgin Islands, U.S.

As used in this chapter, unless it is otherwise provided or the context requires a different construction, application or meaning:

(1) ‘Abandoned child‘ means a child whose parents, guardian, or custodian desert him for such a length of time and under such circumstances as to show an intent to evade the duty of rearing him or a reckless disregard for his needs. It shall be a rebuttable presumption that the parent intends to abandon the child who has been left by his parent without any provision for his support, or without communication from such parent for a period of six months. If, in the opinion of the court, the evidence indicates that such parent has made only minimal efforts to support or communicate with the child, the court may declare the child to be abandoned. Abandonment is a form of neglect.

(2) ‘Abuse‘ means any physical or mental injury inflicted on a child, other than by accidental means, by those responsible for the care and maintenance of the child, which injury causes or creates a substantial risk of death, serious or protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of physical or emotional health or loss or protracted impairment of the function of any bodily organ. ‘Abuse‘ includes the sexual abuse of a child, as defined by law, or the sexual exploitation, including the prostituting of a child and the photographing or other depiction of a child for pornographic purposes, or a persistent course of sexual conduct that causes a child’s health or welfare to be harmed or threatened.

(3) ‘Adjudicatory hearing‘ means a hearing conducted in accordance with sections 2517 and 2548 of this chapter in which the court makes its findings of fact and enters an appropriate order dismissing the case, withholding adjudication, or adjudicating the child to be a delinquent child, person in need of supervision, an abused or neglected child.

(4) ‘Adult‘ means an individual 18 years of age or older.

(5) ‘Attorney General‘ means the Attorney General of the Virgin Islands, or his designee.

(6) ‘Case involving abuse‘ means any proceeding under this chapter in which there are allegations that one or more of the children of, or the legal responsibility of, the respondent are abused children.

(7) ‘Child‘ means an individual under the age of 18 years.

(8) ‘Commit‘ means to transfer legal and physical custody.

(9) ‘Consent decree‘ means a decree, entered after the filing of a petition and before the entry of an adjudication order, suspending the proceedings and continuing the care of the child under supervision in the child’s own home, under specific terms and conditions.

(10) ‘Custodian‘ means a person or agency other than a parent, or guardian to whom legal custody has been given by the court order or who is acting in loco parentis.

(11) ‘Delinquent act‘ means an act which, if committed by an adult, would constitute a crime under the laws of the Virgin Islands.

(12) ‘Delinquent child‘ means a child who has been adjudicated to have committed a delinquent act.

(13) ‘Detention care‘ means the temporary care of children alleged to be delinquent and held in custody pending disposition.

(14) ‘Detention hearing‘ means a hearing at which the court determines whether it is necessary that the child be held in detention care, shelter care, some other placement outside his home, or in his own home under court imposed restrictions, pending a hearing to adjudicate delinquency, abuse or neglect or determine whether the child is a person in need of supervision.

(15) ‘Detention home‘ means a facility to be used for the care of children alleged to be or adjudicated delinquent. A detention home may provide secure or nonsecure custody.

(16) ‘Father‘ means, for purpose of this chapter only, a male parent of a child when:

(a) he is married to a mother of the child when the child was conceived or when the child was born, unless a court of competent jurisdiction has, through court order, ruled to the contrary; or

(b) it has been so determined by a court of competent jurisdiction; or

(c) he has been given an order of adoption of the child by a court of competent jurisdiction; or

(d) Paternity has otherwise been established pursuant to Title 16, chapter 11 of this Code; or

(e) he otherwise makes a formal or unequivocal acknowledgment;

(f) but does not mean a man whose parental rights have been terminated by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(17) ‘Imminent danger to that child’s life or health‘ means danger which involves:

(a) substantial impairment of the intellectual, psychological or emotional capacity of a child caused by inhumane acts or conduct;

(b) substantial impairment of physical well-being as evidenced by lack of adequate nutrition and medical care;

(c) actual or attempted sexual abuse;

(d) substantial physical pain;

(e) serious bodily injury resulting in physical disfigurement;

(f) substantial impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ;

(g) injury which may result in death.

(18) ‘Intake‘ means the acceptance of complaints and the screening of them to eliminate those which do not require action by the court, the disposition of the complaint without court action when appropriate, the referral of the child to another public or private agency when appropriate, and the instigation of court action when necessary.

(19) ‘Legal custody‘ means in delinquency, person in need of supervision, abuse and neglect matters, a legal status created by court order which vests in a custodian the right to have physical custody of the child and to determine where and with whom he shall live within the territory, and the right and duty to protect, train and discipline him and to provide him with food, shelter, education and ordinary medical care, all subject to the powers, rights, duties and responsibilities given to a guardian by the court and subject to any residual parental rights and responsibilities. An individual granted legal custody shall exercise the rights and responsibilities personally unless otherwise authorized by the court.

(20) ‘Neglect‘ means the failure by those responsible for the care and maintenance of the child to provide the necessary support, maintenance, education as required by law; and medical or behavioral health care, to the extent that the child’s health or welfare is harmed or threatened thereby. It shall also mean an abandoned child as defined in this chapter.

(21) ‘Parent‘ means the father or mother of a child and includes any adoptive parent. It does not include a person whose parental rights in respect to the child have been terminated in any manner provided by law.

(22) ‘Person responsible for a child’s care‘ includes the child’s parent, guardian, custodian or other person or agency responsible for the child’s welfare or care, whether the child is in his own home, shelter care, detention home, a relative’s home, a foster home or a residential institution.

(23) ‘Person in need of supervision‘ means a child who:

(a) being subject to compulsory school attendance is habitually truant from school; or

(b) habitually disobeys the reasonable demands of the person responsible for the child’s care and is beyond their control; or

(c) has run away from the person responsible for the child’s care; or

(d) habitually or unlawfully uses or consumes alcoholic beverages or controlled substances or habitually misuses other substances to his serious detriment.

(24) ‘Probation‘ means the legal status created by court order following an adjudication of delinquency, or a person in need of supervision, whereby a minor is permitted to remain in a community environment, subject to supervision and to being returned to the court for violation of probation at any time during the period of probation.

(25) ‘Protective supervision‘ means a legal status created by court order in neglect or abuse cases whereby the child is permitted to remain in his home.

(26) ‘Residential institution‘ means a secure facility administered by the Youth Services Administration for the care of children adjudicated delinquent.

(27) ‘Residual parental rights and responsibilities‘ means the rights and responsibilities remaining with the parent after transfer of legal custody or appointment of a guardian, including, but not necessarily limited to, the right of visitation, consent to adoption, the right to determine religious affiliation, and the responsibility for support.

(28) ‘Respondent‘ means a party to an action, and is any parent, guardian or other person alleged to have abused or neglected such child in their care.

(29) ‘Shelter care‘ means the temporary care of children in physically unrestricting facilities, including group homes.

(30) The singular includes the plural, the plural the singular, and the masculine the feminine, when consistent with the intent of this chapter. The terms ‘child‘, ‘juvenile‘ and ‘minor‘ are used interchangeably throughout this chapter and carry the same definition as ‘child‘, indicated above.