Section 327.2  Definitions

            "Children for whom the Department has legal responsibility" means children for whom the Department has temporary protective custody, custody or guardianship via court order, or children whose parent(s) has signed an adoptive surrender or voluntary placement agreement with the Department.

            "Consent" or "Consenting" for purposes of these rules means a legally binding commitment resulting from an informed, deliberative process in which the consenting party signs a formal document.  The consenting party may be the Department's Guardianship Administrator, or designee, or the children's parents.

            "Designee" means those Department staff who have been appointed by the Director and authorized by the Guardianship Administrator and have been given formal authority to authorize and consent to matters concerning children for whom the Department has legal responsibility.

            "Drug" means any medication taken orally, injected into the body, or administered by other means, which requires the consultation of a physician for its use or requires a written prescription for its use or purchase.

            "Elective medical treatment or surgical procedure" means major medical care, as defined in these rules, which may be delayed for 72 hours or more without jeopardizing the life, health, or safety of the patient or subjecting him to probable physical harm.

            "Emergency medical treatment or surgical procedure" means immediate ordinary or major measures necessary to preserve the life, health, or physical well-being of the patient.

            "Guardianship Administrator" means that person designated by the Director of the Department of Children and Family Services to serve as guardian or custodian of children accepted by the Department pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act, An Act Creating the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, and the Adoption Act.

            "Major medical care" means those medical procedures which are not administered or performed on a routine basis and which involve hospitalization, surgery, or use of anesthesia.  These procedures include, but are not limited to, tonsillectomies, appendectomies, provision of blood transfusions, psychiatric hospitalization, use of life support systems, and organ transplants.

            "Medical treatment or procedure" means any medical or surgical procedure which is intended to alleviate, ameliorate, prevent or correct physical illness, injury, disability, or disfigurement.  The term does not include psychological or psychiatric counseling, therapy, or treatment.

            "Ordinary medical care" means those medical procedures which are administered or performed on a routine basis and which do not involve hospitalization, surgery, or use of anesthesia and include, but are not limited to inoculations, physical examinations, and remedial treatment for minor illnesses and injuries.

(Source:  Amended at 9 Ill. Reg. 13947, effective September 16, 1985)