20-1-15. Definitions.

As used in this article, the term:

“Child” means any individual under 18 years of age.#

“Fictive kin” means an individual who is known to a child as a relative but is not in fact related by blood or marriage to such child and with whom such child has resided or had significant contact.#

“Kinship caregiver” means a grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, great aunt, great uncle, cousin, sibling, or fictive kin who has assumed responsibility for raising a child in an informal, noncustodial, or guardianship capacity upon the parents or legal custodians of such child:#

1. (A)

   Losing or abdicating the ability to care for such child; or#

2. (B)

   Being unable to ensure that the child will attend school for reasons, including, but not limited to:#

   1. (i)

      A parent or legal custodian being unable to provide care due to the death of a parent or legal custodian;#

   2. (ii)

      A serious illness or terminal illness of a parent or legal custodian;#

   3. (iii)

      The physical or mental condition of the parents or legal custodians such that proper care and supervision of the child cannot be provided;#

   4. (iv)

      The incarceration of a parent or legal custodian;#

   5. (v)

      The inability to locate the parents or legal custodians;#

   6. (vi)

      The loss or uninhabitability of the child’s home as the result of a natural disaster; or#

   7. (vii)

      A period of active military duty of the parents or legal custodians exceeding 24 months.#

“Legal custodian” means a person who has been awarded permanent custody of a child by court order.#

“Parent” means the legal father or the legal mother of a child.#

“Reasonable efforts” means actions that a reasonable individual would find sufficient to determine whether one conclusion is more likely than the other.#