{"data":{"id":"us-dc/d.c.-code-16-2301","jurisdiction":"us-dc","citation":"D.C. Code § 16-2301","heading":"Definitions.","body":"As used in this subchapter —\n\n(1)\nThe term “Division” means the Family Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Pursuant to section 16-2301.01, the term “Division” shall be deemed to refer to the Family Court of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.\n\n(1A)\n“Family Court” means the Family Court of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.\n\n(2)\nThe term “judge” means a judge assigned to the Family Division of the Superior Court.\n\n(3)\nThe term “child” means an individual who is under 18 years of age, except that the term “child” does not include an individual who is sixteen years of age or older and —\n(A)\ncharged by the United States attorney with (i) murder, first degree sexual abuse, burglary in the first degree, robbery while armed, or assault with intent to commit any such offense, or (ii) an offense listed in clause (i) and any other offense properly joinable with such an offense;\n(B)\ncharged with an offense referred to in subparagraph (A)(i) and convicted by plea or verdict of a lesser included offense; or\n(C)\ncharged with a traffic offense.\n\n(4)\nThe term “minor” means an individual who is under the age of twenty-one years.\n\n(5)\nThe term “adult” means an individual who is twenty-one years of age or older.\n\n(6)\nThe term “delinquent child” means a child who has committed a delinquent act and is in need of care or rehabilitation.\n\n(7)\nThe term “delinquent act” means an act designated as an offense under the law of the District of Columbia, or of a State if the act occurred in a State, or under Federal law. Traffic offenses shall not be deemed delinquent acts unless committed by an individual who is under the age of sixteen.\n\n(8)\nThe term “child in need of supervision” means a child who —\n(A)\n(i)\nsubject to compulsory school attendance and habitually truant from school without justification;\n(ii)\nhas committed an offense committable only by children; or\n(iii)\nis habitually disobedient of the reasonable and lawful commands of his parent, guardian, or other custodian and is ungovernable; and\n(B)\nis in need of care or rehabilitation.\n\n(9)\n(A)\nThe term \"neglected child\" means a child:\n(i)\nwho has been abused by their parent, guardian, or custodian, or whose parent, guardian, or custodian has failed to take actions that are reasonable under the circumstances to protect the child from abuse;\n(ii)\nwho is suffering or is at substantial risk of suffering serious physical, mental, or emotional harm, due to the parent, guardian, or custodian's failure to provide adequate care, including minimally necessary supervision, subsistence, and education as required by law based on a consideration of a totality of the circumstances, and the failure is not solely due to the lack of financial means of his or her parent, guardian, or custodian; provided, that eligibility for, or receipt of, public benefits, alone, shall not be sufficient to establish that the failure is not due solely to the lack of financial means;\n(iii)\nwho is suffering or is at substantial risk of suffering serious physical, mental, or emotional harm, because the parent, guardian, or custodian is unable to discharge their responsibilities to the child due to mental incapacity;\n(iv)\nwhose parent, guardian, or custodian refuses, is unavailable, or states that they are unable to continue providing for or assume the child's care, control, or subsistence;\n(v)\nwho is in imminent danger of being abused and another child living in the same household or under the care of the same parent, guardian, or custodian has been abused;\n(vi)\nRepealed;\n(vii)\nwho has been abandoned;\n(viii)\nwho is born dependent on a controlled substance or has a significant presence of a controlled substance in their system at birth;\n(ix)\nin whose body there is a controlled substance as a direct and foreseeable consequence of the acts or omissions of the child's parent, guardian, or custodian; or\n(x)\nwho is regularly exposed to illegal drug-related activity in the home.\n(xi)\nRepealed.\n(B)\nNo child who in good faith is under treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination by a duly accredited practitioner thereof shall for that reason alone be considered a neglected child for the purposes of this subchapter.\n(C)\nSubparagraph (A)(viii), (ix), and (x) of this paragraph shall apply as of October 1, 2003.\n(D)\nHomelessness or lack of stable housing alone shall not be sufficient to establish that a child is a neglected child.\n\n(10)\nRepealed.\n\n(11)\nRepealed.\n\n(12)\nThe term “custodian” means a person or agency, other than a parent or legal guardian:\n(A)\nto whom the legal custody of a child has been granted by the order of a court;\n(B)\nwho is acting in loco parentis; or\n(C)\nwho is a day care provider or an employee of a residential facility, in the case of the placement of an abused or neglected child.\n\n(13)\nThe term “detention” means the temporary, secure custody of a child in facilities, designated by the Division, pending a final disposition of a petition.\n\n(14)\nThe term “shelter care” means the temporary care of a child in physically unrestricting facilities, designated by the Division, pending a final disposition of a petition.\n\n(15)\nThe term “detention or shelter care hearing” means a hearing to determine whether a child who is in custody should be placed or continued in detention or shelter care.\n\n(16)\nThe term “factfinding hearing” means a hearing to determine whether the allegations of a petition are true.\n\n(17)\nThe term “dispositional hearing” means a hearing, after a finding of fact, to determine —\n(A)\nwhether the child in a delinquency or need of supervision case is in need of care or rehabilitation and, if so, what order of disposition should be made; or\n(B)\nwhat order of disposition should be made in a neglect case.\n\n(18)\nThe term “probation” means a legal status created by Division order following an adjudication of delinquency or need of supervision, whereby a minor is permitted to remain in the community subject to appropriate supervision and return to the Division for violation of probation at any time during the period of probation.\n\n(19)\nThe term “protective supervision” means a legal status created by Division order in neglect cases whereby a minor is permitted to remain in his home under supervision, subject to return to the Division during the period of protective supervision.\n\n(20)\nThe term “guardianship of the person of a minor” means the duty and authority to make important decisions in matters having a permanent effect on the life and development of the minor, and concern with his general welfare. It includes (but is not limited to) —\n(A)\nauthority to consent to enlistment in the armed forces of the United States, and major medical, surgical, or psychiatric treatment; to represent the minor in legal actions; and to make other decisions concerning the minor of substantive legal significance;\n(B)\nthe authority and duty of reasonable visitation (except as limited by Division order);\n(C)\nthe rights and responsibilities of legal custody when guardianship of the person is exercised by the natural or adoptive parent (except where legal custody has been vested in another person or an agency or institution); and\n(D)\nthe authority to exercise residual parental rights and responsibilities when the rights of his parents or only living parent have been judicially terminated or when both parents are dead.\n\n(21)\nThe term “legal custody” means a legal status created by Division order which vests in a custodian the responsibility for the custody of a minor which includes —\n(A)\nphysical custody and the determination of where and with whom the minor shall live;\n(B)\nthe right and duty to protect, train, and discipline the minor; and\n(C)\nthe responsibility to provide the minor with food, shelter, education, and ordinary medical care.\n\n(22)\nThe term “residual parental rights and responsibilities” means those rights and responsibilities remaining with the parent after transfer of legal custody or guardianship of the person, including (but not limited to) the right of visitation, consent to adoption, and determination of religious affiliation and the responsibility for support.\n\n(23)\n(A)\nThe term \"abused\", when used with reference to a child, includes:\n(i)\ninfliction of physical injury;\n(ii)\ninfliction of mental injury;\n(iii)\nsexual abuse or exploitation;\n(iv)\nmistreatment of the child by withholding adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care;\n(v)\ninterfering with a child's breathing; or\n(vi)\nthreatening a child with a firearm, a knife, or any prohibited weapon described in [§ 22-4514], or using such a weapon on a child.\n(B)\nThe term \"abused\" does not include physical discipline administered by a parent, guardian, or custodian to their child; provided, that the child is at least 3 years of age, and the physical discipline is reasonable in manner and moderate in degree.\n\n(24)\n[Repealed].\n\n(25)\nThe term “sexual exploitation” means a parent, guardian, or other custodian allows a child to engage in prostitution as defined in section 2(1) of the Control of Prostitution and Sale of Controlled Substances in Public Places Criminal Control Act of 1981, effective December 10, 1981 (D.C. Law 4-57; § 22-2701.01 [now § 22-2701.01(3)]), or means a parent, guardian, or other custodian engages a child or allows a child to engage in obscene or pornographic photography, filming, or other forms of illustrating or promoting sexual conduct as defined in section 2(5) of the District of Columbia Protection of Minors Act of 1982, effective March 9, 1983 (D.C. Law 4-173; § 22-3101(5)).\n\n(26)\nThe term “parenting classes” means any program which enhances the parenting skills of individuals through providing role models, discussion, training in early childhood development and child psychology, or other instruction designed to strengthen the parent, guardian, or custodian’s ability to nurture children.\n\n(27)\nThe term “family counseling” means any psychological or psychiatric or other social service offered by a provider to the parent and 1 or more members of the extended family or the child’s guardian or other caretaker of a child who has been adjudicated neglected, delinquent, or in need of supervision. A caretaker is an adult person in whose care a minor has been entrusted by written authorization of the child’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian.\n\n(28)\nThe term “entry into foster care” means the earlier of:\n(A)\nThe date of the first judicial finding that the child has been neglected; or\n(B)\nThe date that is 60 days after the date on which the child is removed from the home.\n\n(29)\nThe term “Agency” means the Child and Family Services Agency established by section 6-2121.01 [§  4-1303.01a].\n\n(30)\nThe term “physical injury” means bodily harm greater than transient pain or minor temporary marks.\n\n(31)\nThe term “mental injury” means harm to a child’s psychological or intellectual functioning, which may be exhibited by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or outwardly aggressive behavior, or a combination of those behaviors, and which may be demonstrated by a change in behavior, emotional response, or cognition.\n\n(32)\nThe term “sexual abuse” means:\n(A)\nengaging in, or attempting to engage in, a sexual act or sexual contact with a child;\n(B)\ncausing or attempting to cause a child to engage in sexually explicit conduct; or\n(C)\nexposing a child to sexually explicit conduct.\n\n(33)\nThe term “sexually explicit conduct” means actual or simulated:\n(A)\nsexual act;\n(B)\nsexual contact;\n(C)\nbestiality;\n(D)\nmasturbation; or\n(E)\nlascivious exhibition of the genitals, anus, or pubic area.\n\n(34)\nThe term “sexual act” shall have the same meaning as provided in section 101(8) of the Anti-Sexual Abuse Act of 1994,    effective May 23, 1995 (D.C. Law 10-257; D.C. Official Code § 22-3001(8)).\n\n(35)\nThe term “sexual contact” shall have the same meaning as provided in section 101(9) of the Anti-Sexual Abuse Act of 1994,  effective May 23, 1995 (D.C. Law 10-257;  D.C. Official Code § 22-3001(9)).\n\n(36)\nThe term “controlled substance” means a drug or chemical substance, or immediate precursor, as set forth in Schedules I through V of the District of Columbia Uniform Controlled Substances Act of 1981, effective August 5, 1981 (D.C. Law 4-29; D.C. Official Code § 48-901.01 et seq.), which has not been prescribed by a physician.\n\n(37)\nThe term “drug-related activity” means the use, sale, distribution, or manufacture of a drug or drug paraphernalia without a legally valid license or medical prescription.\n\n(38)\nThe term “incompetent to proceed” means that a child alleged to be delinquent is not competent to participate in a hearing on the petition pursuant to section 16-2316(a) or any other hearing in a delinquency proceeding, except scheduling, status, and competency hearings, because he or she does not have sufficient present ability to consult with his or her lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding or does not have a rational, as well as a factual, understanding of the proceedings against him or her.\n\n(39)\nThe term “psychiatrist” means a physician who is licensed to practice medicine in the District of Columbia, or is employed by the federal government, and has completed a residency in psychiatry.\n\n(40)\nThe term “qualified psychologist” means a person who is licensed pursuant to section 3-1205.01, and has one year of formal training within a hospital setting, or 2 years of supervised clinical experience in an organized health care setting, one of which must be post-doctoral.\n\n(41)\n(A)\nThe term “victim” means any person, organization, partnership, business, corporation, agency or governmental entity:\n(i)\nagainst whom a crime, delinquent act, or an attempted crime or delinquent act has been committed;\n(ii)\nwho suffers any physical or mental injury as a result of a crime, delinquent act, or an attempted crime or delinquent act;\n(iii)\nwho may have been exposed to the HIV/AIDS virus as a result of a crime, delinquent act, or an attempted crime or delinquent act; or\n(iv)\nwho suffers any loss of property, including pecuniary loss, as a result of a crime, delinquent act, or an attempted crime or delinquent act.\n(B)\nThe term “victim” shall not include any person who committed or aided or abetted in the commission of the crime, delinquent act, or attempted crime or delinquent act.\n\n(42)\nThe term “immediate family member” means:\n(A)\nthe person’s parent, brother, sister, grandparent, or child, and the spouse of any such parent, brother, sister, grandparent, or child;\n(B)\nany person who maintains or has maintained a romantic relationship, not necessarily including a sexual relationship, with the person; or\n(C)\nany person who has a child in common with the person.\n\n(43)\nThe term “weapons offense” means any violation of any law, rule, or regulation which involves the sale, purchase, transfer in any manner, receipt, acquisition, possession, having under control, use, repair, manufacture, carrying, or transportation of any firearm, ammunition, or destructive device as these terms are defined in section 7-2501.01.\n\n(44)\nThe term “domestic partner” shall have the same meaning as provided in § 32-701(3).\n\n(45)\nThe term “Superior Court” means the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.\n\n(46)\nThe term \"penal institution\" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 22-2603.01(6).\n\n(47)\nThe term \"hardware secure facility\" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 2-1515.01(9A).\n\n(48)\nThe term \"staff secure facility\" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 2-1515.01(11A).\n\n(49)\nThe term \"individualized rehabilitation plan\" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 2-1515.01(9B).\n\n(50)\nThe term \"predisposition meeting\" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 2-1515.01(10A).\n\n(51)\nThe term \"validated risk and needs assessment\" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 2-1515.01(11B).\n\n(52)\n(A)\nThe term \"abandoned\" means a child:\n(i)\nwhose parent, guardian, or legal custodian has not made reasonable efforts to maintain a parental relationship with the child for a period of at least 4 months; or\n(ii)\nwho has resided in a hospital located in the District of Columbia for at least 10 days following the birth of the child and the parent of the child did not undertake any action or make any effort to maintain a parental relationship or contact with the child or hospital.\n(B)\nThe term \"abandoned\" does not include a child who is surrendered in accordance with [Chapter 14A of Title 4].","path":["Title 16. Particular Actions, Proceedings and Matters. [Enacted title]","Chapter 23. Family Division [Family Court] Proceedings.","Subchapter I. Proceedings Regarding Delinquency, Neglect, or Need of Supervision."],"source_url":"https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/16-2301","current_through":"2026-08-20 (D.C. Law 26-175)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-29T05:44:07Z","sha256":"67cc1c5d20c02e4abe09237d915fa1e2261b37a4ec11fca60ac45e0ade0d7110","source_id":"us-dc","stale":false,"prev":"us-dc/d.c.-code-16-2106","next":"us-dc/d.c.-code-16-2301.01"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}