{"data":{"id":"us-ak/as-47.10.990","jurisdiction":"us-ak","citation":"AS 47.10.990","heading":"Definitions.","body":"In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,\n(1) “adult family member” means a person who is 18 years of age or older and who is\n(A) related to the child as the child's grandparent, aunt, uncle, or sibling;\n(B) the child's sibling's legal guardian or parent; or\n(C) in the case of an Indian child, an extended family member as defined in 25 U.S.C. 1903;\n(2) “care” means to provide for the physical, mental, and social needs of the child;\n(3) “child” means a person who is\n(A) under 18 years of age;\n(B) 19 years of age if that person was under 18 years of age at the time that a proceeding under this chapter was commenced; and\n(C) under 21 years of age if that person is committed to the custody of the department under AS 47.10.080(c)(1) or (v);\n(4) “child in need of aid” means a child found to be within the jurisdiction of the court under AS 47.10.010 and 47.10.011;\n(5) “commissioner” means the commissioner of family and community services;\n(6) “court” means the superior court of the state;\n(7) “custodian” means a natural person 18 years of age or older to whom a parent or guardian has transferred temporary physical care, custody, and control of the child for a period of time;\n(8) “department” means the Department of Family and Community Services;\n(9) “domestic violence” has the meaning given in AS 18.66.990;\n(10) “family member” means a person of any age who is\n(A) related to the child as the child's grandparent, aunt, uncle, or sibling;\n(B) the child's sibling's legal guardian or parent; or\n(C) in the case of an Indian child, an extended family member as defined in 25 U.S.C. 1903;\n(11) “family support services” means the services and activities provided to children and their families, including those provided by the community, a church, or other service organization, both to prevent removal of a child from the parental home and to facilitate the child's safe return to the family; “family support services” may include counseling, substance abuse treatment, mental health services, assistance to address domestic violence, visitation with family members, parenting classes, in-home services, temporary child care services, and transportation;\n(12) “foster care” means care provided by a person or household under a foster home license required under AS 47.32;\n(13) “gravely disabled” has the meaning given in AS 47.30.915;\n(14) “guardian” means a natural person who is legally appointed guardian of the child by the court;\n(15) “hazardous volatile material or substance” has the meaning given in AS 47.37.270;\n(16) “Indian child” has the meaning given in 25 U.S.C. 1903;\n(17) “Indian child's tribe” has the meaning given in 25 U.S.C. 1903;\n(18) “infant” means a child who is less than 21 days of age;\n(19) “intoxicant” means a substance that temporarily diminishes a person's control over mental or physical powers, including alcohol, controlled substances under AS 11.71, and a hazardous volatile material or substance misused by inhaling its vapors;\n(20) “juvenile detention facility” has the meaning given in AS 47.12.990;\n(21) “mental health professional” has the meaning given in AS 47.30.915, except that, if the child is placed in another state by the department, “mental health professional” also includes a professional listed in the definition of “mental health professional” in AS 47.30.915 who is not licensed to practice by a board of this state but is licensed by a corresponding licensing authority to practice in the state in which the child is placed;\n(22) “mental illness” has the meaning given in AS 47.30.915;\n(23) “mental injury” has the meaning given in AS 47.17.290;\n(24) “near fatality” means physical injury or other harm, as certified by a physician, caused by an act or omission that created a substantial risk of death;\n(25) “out-of-home care provider” means a foster parent or relative other than a parent with whom the child is placed;\n(26) “parent” means the biological or adoptive parent of the child;\n(27) “permanency hearing” means a hearing\n(A) designed to reach a decision in a case concerning the permanent placement of a child under AS 47.10; and\n(B) at which the direction of the case involving the child is determined;\n(28) “physical injury” has the meaning given in AS 11.81.900(b);\n(29) “reasonable efforts” means, with respect to family support services required under AS 47.10.086, consistent attempts made during a reasonable time period and time-limited services;\n(30) “reasonable time” means a period of time that serves the best interests of the child, taking in account the affected child's age, emotional and developmental needs, and ability to form and maintain lasting attachments;\n(31) “secure residential psychiatric treatment center” has the meaning given “residential psychiatric treatment center” in AS 47.32.900;\n(32) “serious physical injury” has the meaning given in AS 11.81.900(b);\n(33) “sexual abuse” means the conduct described in AS 11.41.410 — 11.41.460; conduct constituting “sexual exploitation” as defined in AS 47.17.290, and conduct prohibited by AS 11.66.100 — 11.66.150;\n(34) “support” has the meaning given in AS 11.51.120(b).","path":["Title 47. Welfare, Social Services, and Institutions.","Chapter 10. Children in Need of Aid.","Article 4. General Provisions."],"source_url":"https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp#47.10.990","current_through":"Alaska Statutes 2025 (34th Legislature, 2025-2026)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-02T06:19:52Z","sha256":"10bc5b6c24a870d5bb13f34010e21bfbf1db5eeadbc52b446f4c07e5608474b4","source_id":"us-ak","stale":false,"prev":"us-ak/as-47.10.980","next":"us-ak/as-47.12.010"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}