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Idaho Statutes
Idaho Statutes are updated to the website July 1 following the legislative session.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
CHAPTER 53
ADULT ABUSE, NEGLECT AND EXPLOITATION ACT
39-5302. Definitions. (1) For the purposes of this chapter:
(a) "Administrator" means the administrator of the Idaho commission on aging appointed pursuant to section 67-5004, Idaho Code.
(b) "Adult" means a person aged eighteen (18) years or older.
(c) "Adult protective services" or "APS" means the legal and bureaucratic systems and protections safeguarding vulnerable adults through investigation of APS reports alleging maltreatment and arrangements for the provision of emergency, supportive, or prevention services necessary to reduce or eliminate risk of harm.
(d) "APS report" means an allegation of maltreatment of a vulnerable adult made to adult protective services.
(e) "Caregiver" refers to a formal caregiver or an informal caregiver.
(f) "Commission" means the Idaho commission on aging, established pursuant to chapter 50, title 67, Idaho Code.
(g) "Department" means the Idaho department of health and welfare.
(h) "Emergency" means an exigent circumstance in which a vulnerable adult’s health and safety is placed in imminent danger. Imminent danger is when death or severe bodily injury could reasonably be expected to occur without intervention.
(i) "Facility" means a health or treatment facility as defined in statute or by the department, including:
(i) Certified family homes, as defined in section 39-3502, Idaho Code;
(ii) Developmental disabilities facilities, as defined in section 39-4604, Idaho Code;
(iii) Home health agencies, as defined in section 39-2402, Idaho Code;
(iv) Hospitals, as defined in section 39-1301, Idaho Code;
(v) Intermediate care facilities for people with intellectual disabilities, as defined in section 39-1301, Idaho Code;
(vi) Residential care or assisted living facilities, as defined in section 39-3302, Idaho Code; and
(vii) Residential habilitation agencies.
(j) "Financial exploitation" means the illegal or improper use, control over, or withholding of the property, income, resources, or trust funds of a vulnerable adult by any person or entity for profit or advantage other than for the vulnerable adult’s profit or advantage. The term "financial exploitation" includes but is not limited to:
(i) The use of deception, intimidation, or undue influence by a person or an entity in a position of trust and confidence with a vulnerable adult to obtain or use the property, income, resources, or trust funds of the vulnerable adult for the benefit of a person or an entity other than the vulnerable adult;
(ii) The breach of a fiduciary duty, including but not limited to the misuse of a power of attorney, trust, or guardianship appointment that results in the unauthorized appropriation, sale, or transfer of the property, income, resources, belongings, or trust funds of the vulnerable adult for the benefit of a person or an entity other than the vulnerable adult; or
(iii) Obtaining or using a vulnerable adult’s property, income, belongings, resources, or trust funds without lawful authority by a person or an entity who knows or clearly should know that the vulnerable adult lacks the capacity to consent to the release or use of his property, income, belongings, resources, or trust funds.
(k) "Formal caregiver" means a person or an entity that accepts compensation to perform a service or services for a vulnerable adult. Compensation may be provided by an employer, the vulnerable adult, or someone acting in the interests of the vulnerable adult.
(l) "Human trafficking" means the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
(m) "Infirmities of aging" means physical or mental deterioration associated with advanced age or organic brain damage, or other physical, mental, or emotional dysfunction, such that the ability of an older adult to provide adequately for the adult’s own care or protection is impaired.
(n) "Informal caregiver" means a person who provides support for a vulnerable adult without expectation of compensation, goods, or services.
(o) "Investigation" means the evaluation of allegations conducted by a provider or the commission through interviews, observations, and examination of information.
(p) "Legal representative" means a guardian, a conservator, an attorney, or an individual with power of attorney who has the legal obligation to act for the benefit of another.
(q) "Licensed medical professional" means an individual practicing in a medical or medical-related field who is licensed, certified, or otherwise credentialed by the state of Idaho.
(r) "Neglect" means failure of a caregiver to provide food, clothing, shelter, or medical care, the absence of which impairs or threatens sustainable life or health of a vulnerable adult.
(s) "Older adult" means a person aged sixty-five (65) years or older.
(t) "Physical abuse" means the infliction of physical pain, injury, or unjust chemical or physical restraint on a vulnerable adult or death where:
(i) The vulnerable adult’s condition or death is not justifiably explained;
(ii) The history given concerning such condition or death is at variance with the degree or type of the condition or death; or
(iii) Circumstances indicate that such condition or death may not be the product of an accidental occurrence.
(u) "Prevention services" means interventions designed to reduce the risk of maltreatment, including but not limited to case management, the provision of goods or services, or caregiver support.
(v) "Protective action plan" or "PAP" means a person-centered plan addressing the remedial, social, legal, medical, educational, mental health, or other services available to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm to a vulnerable adult.
(w) "Provider" means an area agency on aging or a person or an entity capable of providing adult protective services, including duly authorized agents and employees.
(x) "Psychological abuse" means the infliction of fear, anguish, agitation, or other emotional distress through verbal or nonverbal acts or through unjust confinement of a vulnerable adult.
(y) "Self-neglect" means failure of a vulnerable adult to provide for himself or refusal to accept support needed to obtain food, clothing, shelter, or medical care reasonably necessary to sustain the life and health of the vulnerable adult.
(z) "Sexual abuse" means touching, fondling, intercourse, or any other sexual activity with a vulnerable adult when the vulnerable adult is unable to understand, unwilling to consent, threatened, or physically forced.
(aa) "Skilled nursing facility" shall have the same meaning as "nursing facility" provided in section 39-1301, Idaho Code.
(bb) "Supportive services" means social, legal, health, educational, mental health, and referral services.
(cc) "Undue influence" means influence exercised over a vulnerable adult with the intent to:
(i) Inhibit the vulnerable adult’s freedom of choice;
(ii) Deprive the vulnerable adult of freedom of choice; or
(iii) Substitute the influencer’s choice or desire over that of the vulnerable adult.
(dd) "Vulnerable adult" means an adult who is unable to protect himself from maltreatment because of:
(i) A mental, physical, or developmental disability;
(ii) A degenerative brain disease;
(iii) An inability to communicate or implement decisions regarding his person; or
(iv) Other infirmities of aging in an older adult.
(ee) "Vulnerable adult maltreatment" or "maltreatment" means the intentional or negligent infliction of pain or injury on a vulnerable adult, including financial exploitation, human trafficking, neglect, physical abuse, psychological abuse, or sexual abuse.
(2) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to mean a person is abused, neglected, or exploited for the sole reason he is relying upon treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination; nor shall the provisions of this chapter be construed to require any medical care or treatment in contravention of the stated or implied objection of such a person.
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