Alabama Administrative Code
Title 660 - ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Chapter 660-5-34 - PROTECTIVE SERVICES FOR CHILDREN
Section 660-5-34-.14 - Glossary

(1) Imminent Risk of Placement (into DHR custody and/or foster care) - Family conditions and circumstances that threaten child safety are present and interacting in such a way that it leads a reasonable person to conclude that there is a very high likelihood that a child will need to be placed.

(2) Safety Threat - A condition or circumstance that presents a risk of serious harm to the children.

(3) Serious Harm - Significant physical injury; sexual abuse; severe impairment in a child's functioning; permanent disability or disfigurement; or death.

(4) Protective Capacities - Parent/primary caregiver resources that can or do provide for child safety. These capacities include, but are not limited to, parenting/caregiving knowledge and skills; attachment to the children; awareness of and ability to interpret and meet children's needs; and a willingness and ability to act protectively when the children experience safety threats.

(5) Primary CareGiver - The adult who assumes the parental role and has the major responsibility for a child's care. This may include, but is not limited to, a parent, stepparent, adoptive parent, another relative or a non-relative rearing a child for an absent or incapacitated parent. This also includes any person who has assumed or been delegated responsibility for the care, supervision, transportation, and/or control of children through their employment, unpaid service as a volunteer, or connection with (e.g., students completing an educational practicum, board members) an out-of-home care setting.

(6) Risk of Maltreatment - Family conditions or circumstances that, if left unchanged, can cause child abuse/neglect.

(7) CPS Prevention Referral - Intake information that does not rise to the level of child abuse/neglect according to statutory and departmental definitions or the information provided is insufficient to determine whether a CA/N report exists but, reveals the children may be at risk of maltreatment.

(8) CPS Prevention Assessment - Process used by child welfare staff to gather, analyze, and make decisions about children who may be at risk of maltreatment.

(9) Significant Risk of Maltreatment - Conditions or circumstances revealed during the CPS Prevention assessment that are likely to cause abuse/neglect if ongoing services are not provided.