Effective 01 Jan 2021, see footnote

211.021. Definitions. — As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1) "Adult" means a person eighteen years of age or older;

(2) "Child" means any person under eighteen years of age;

(3) "Juvenile court" means the juvenile division or divisions of the circuit court of the county, or judges while hearing juvenile cases assigned to them;

(4) "Legal custody" means the right to the care, custody and control of a child and the duty to provide food, clothing, shelter, ordinary medical care, education, treatment and discipline of a child. Legal custody may be taken from a parent only by court action and if the legal custody is taken from a parent without termination of parental rights, the parent's duty to provide support continues even though the person having legal custody may provide the necessities of daily living;

(5) "Parent" means either a natural parent or a parent by adoption and if the child is illegitimate, "parent" means the mother;

(6) "Shelter care" means the temporary care of juveniles in physically unrestricting facilities pending final court disposition. These facilities may include:

(a) "Foster home", the private home of foster parents providing twenty-four-hour care to one to three children unrelated to the foster parents by blood, marriage or adoption;

(b) "Group foster home", the private home of foster parents providing twenty-four-hour care to no more than six children unrelated to the foster parents by blood, marriage or adoption;

(c) "Group home", a child care facility which approximates a family setting, provides access to community activities and resources, and provides care to no more than twelve children.

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(L. 1957 p. 642 § 211.020, A.L. 1978 H.B. 1634, A.L. 1982 S.B. 497, A.L. 2008 H.B. 1550, A.L. 2018 S.B. 793 merged with S.B. 800)

Effective 1-01-21, see § 211.439; subject to contingency in § 211.438

(1979) Statutory enactment readopting discriminatory language which exempts fathers of illegitimate children from definition of "parent", but not limited to the purpose of annulling juvenile court rule that changed definition of "parent", did not annul or amend court rule. Miller v. Russell (A.), 593 S.W.2d 598.