The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
  (1) Civil justice system--A network of courts and legal processes that enforce, restore, or protect private and personal rights.
  (2) Community education--The efforts or activities performed to increase public awareness about family violence and the availability of services for victims of family violence.
  (3) Cooperation with criminal justice officials--Making efforts on behalf of victims of family violence to:
    (A) establish ongoing working relationships with the local criminal justice system, including but not limited to law enforcement, prosecutors, the courts, and probation and parole departments; and
    (B) educate the local criminal justice system about family violence and the need for policies that ensure safety for victims of family violence and hold batterers accountable.
  (4) Cooperative living agreement--An agreement between the shelter and residents that promotes health, safety, and daily shelter operations.
  (5) Criminal justice system--A network of court and legal processes that deals with the enforcement of criminal laws. A crime is an action or omission in violation of law and is an offense against the state.
  (6) Crisis call hotline--A telephone number answered 24 hours a day, every day of the year by trained family violence center or special nonresidential project volunteers, employees, or Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC)-approved service contractors who provide victims of family violence with:
    (A) immediate intervention through safety planning;
    (B) understanding and support;
    (C) information about shelter center services; and
    (D) referrals to other services.
  (7) Dating violence--An act by an individual that is against another individual with whom that person has or has had a dating relationship and that is:
    (A) intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault;
    (B) a threat that reasonably places the individual in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault; or
    (C) intended to inflict emotional harm, including an act of emotional abuse.
  (8) Education arrangements for children--Face-to-face services that result in a resident, nonresident, or program participant child complying with the compulsory attendance requirements found in the Texas Education Code.
  (9) Emergency medical care--Assistance in responding to any urgent medical situation for a resident, nonresident, program participant, or victim of family violence being considered for acceptance to or accessing family violence services.
  (10) Emergency transportation--Providing or arranging transportation:
    (A) to and from emergency medical facilities for a resident, nonresident, program participant, or victim of family violence; or
    (B) from a safe place to a shelter for victims of family violence needing shelter within the center's service area.
  (11) Family violence--An act by a member of a family or household against another member of the family or household that is:
    (A) intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, or assault;
    (B) a threat that reasonably places the member in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault, but does not include defensive measures to protect oneself; or
    (C) intended to inflict emotional harm, including an act of emotional abuse.
  (12) Intervention services--Face-to-face services for a resident, nonresident, or program participant child or adult victim of family violence that:
    (A) include:
      (i) safety planning;
      (ii) understanding and support;
      (iii) advocacy;
      (iv) case management;
      (v) information and education; and
      (vi) resource assistance;
    (B) are available daily for shelter residents; and
    (C) are available during the center's or project's hours of operation for nonresidents or program participants.
  (13) Legal assistance--Face-to-face services to the resident, nonresident, or program participant that include:
    (A) identifying individual legal needs;
    (B) explaining legal rights and options;
    (C) providing support and accompaniment in the pursuit of those options;
    (D) assisting in safety planning; and
    (E) providing advocacy.
  (14) Limited English Proficiency (LEP)--A term describing individuals who do not speak English as their primary language and who have limited ability to read, speak, write or understand English.
  (15) Nonresident--An adult or child victim of family violence who receives services from an HHSC-funded shelter center without receiving shelter.
  (16) Nonresidential center--An HHSC-funded program that:
    (A) is operated by a public or private nonprofit organization; and
    (B) provides comprehensive nonresidential services to victims of family violence as described in the Service Delivery section of the HHSC Family Violence Program Nonresidential Center Provider Manual.
  (17) Program participant--An adult or child victim of family violence who receives services from an HHSC-funded nonresidential center or special nonresidential project.
  (18) Referral system to existing community services--An organized process for providing information and referring residents, nonresidents, or program participants to existing community resources, including but not limited to:
    (A) medical care;
    (B) legal representation;
    (C) protective services for abuse of:
      (i) children;
      (ii) the elderly; and
      (iii) people with disabilities;
    (D) resource assistance;
    (E) public assistance;
    (F) counseling and treatment services;
    (G) children's services; and
    (H) other appropriate family violence services.
  (19) Resident--An adult or child victim of family violence who is admitted to an HHSC-funded shelter.
  (20) Satellite shelter--An additional shelter operated by a shelter center that meets the criteria stated in these sections.
  (21) Shelter center--An HHSC-funded program that:
    (A) is operated by a public or private nonprofit organization; and
    (B) provides comprehensive residential and nonresidential services to victims of family violence as described in the Service Delivery section of the HHSC Family Violence Program Shelter Center Provider Manual.
  (22) Special nonresidential project--A project that:
    (A) is operated by a public or private nonprofit organization;
    (B) provides at least one specialized family violence service as described in the Service Delivery section of the HHSC Family Violence Special Nonresidential Project Provider Manual, which can be:
      (i) community education relating to family violence; or
      (ii) direct delivery of services for adult victims of family violence or their children;
    (C) demonstrates a system of referring victims of family violence to at least one family violence shelter center or other safe temporary lodging;
    (D) demonstrates that the project, through the services it provides, is addressing a need in the community consistent with the plan for family violence services under Human Resources Code, §51.0021; and
    (E) demonstrates that the underserved or special population to be served by the project is involved in the project's design and implementation, if applicable.
  (23) Standards--The minimum HHSC requirements as stated in this chapter.
  (24) Training and employment information--Providing information and referrals to residents, nonresidents, or program participants about employment training and employment opportunities, either directly or through formal arrangements with other organizations.
  (25) Twenty-four-hour-a-day shelter--An HHSC-funded shelter center facility that provides access, admittance, and temporary emergency residence for victims of family violence 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
  (26) Victim of family violence--Includes:
    (A) an adult member of a family or household who is subjected to an act of family violence;
    (B) a member of the household of the adult described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, other than the member of the household who commits the act of family violence, including an act of emotional abuse;
    (C) victims not directly served by an HHSC family violence provider;
    (D) a member of the family or household who may have been subjected to sexual abuse by a batterer; and
    (E) a victim of dating violence.
  (27) Volunteer recruitment and training program--A process for soliciting a diverse group of people from the community to work as non-paid staff and providing them with information about family violence and services for victims of family violence through a structured orientation.

Source Note: The provisions of this §356.1 adopted to be effective December 23, 2007, 32 TexReg 9327; amended to be effective September 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 4309; transferred effective April 1, 2024, as published in the March 8, 2024, issue of the Texas Register, 49 TexReg 1507