26 Tex. Admin. Code § 356.1 – Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) 24-hour-a-day shelter--A Texas Health and Human Services Commission-funded (HHSC-funded) shelter center facility that provides access, admittance, and temporary emergency residence for victims of family violence and their dependents, 24-hours-a-day, every day of the year.
(2) Abuse of funds--Actions and statements that are inconsistent with sound fiscal or business practices, and result in unnecessary program costs, including reimbursement for unnecessary services or services that do not meet standards required by contract, statute, regulation, previously sent interpretations of any of the items listed, or authorized governmental explanations of any of the foregoing.
(3) Advocacy--Providing information and assistance to increase survivor safety and access to needed resources or services. Advocacy is trauma-informed and requires understanding a survivor's self-stated experiences and needs.
(4) Additional HHSC-funded shelter--Additional Texas Health and Human Services Commission-funded shelter. An additional shelter or shelters operated by a shelter center that meets the criteria in §356.202 and §356.203 of this chapter (relating to Additional HHSC-Funded Shelter Funding and Additional HHSC-Funded Shelter Requirements).
(5) Client--A resident, nonresident, or program participant who receives a service from a shelter center, special nonresidential project center, or nonresidential center.
(6) Community education--The efforts or activities performed to increase public awareness, including prevention activities, about family violence and the availability of services for victims of family violence.
(7) Complaint--An official written statement of concern or grievance. The term is inclusive of the formal process by which current or former clients or employees may exercise their right to petition a family violence center.
(8) Cooperative living agreement--An agreement between the shelter and residents that promotes health, safety, and daily shelter operations.
(9) Crisis call hotline--A telephone number answered 24-hours-a-day, every day of the year, by trained volunteers, employees, or HHSC-approved service contractors who provide victims of family violence with:
1. (A) immediate intervention through safety planning;
2. (B) understanding and support;
3. (C) information about shelter and nonresidential services; and
4. (D) referrals to other supportive services.
(10) Data breach--Any unauthorized use, disclosure, creation, maintenance, disposal, or transmission of personally identifying information in a manner not permitted by federal or state law.
(11) Dating violence--An act, other than a defensive measure to protect oneself, by an individual that is against another individual with whom that person has or has had a dating relationship and that is:
1. (A) intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault;
2. (B) a threat that reasonably places the individual in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault; or
3. (C) intended to inflict emotional harm, including an act of emotional abuse.
(12) Executive director--The individual acting as the chief administrative or chief executive officer of a family violence center, regardless of the title of the individual's position.
(13) Family violence--An act by a member of a family or household against another member of the family or household that is:
1. (A) intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault;
2. (B) a threat that reasonably places the member in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault, but does not include defensive measures to protect oneself;
3. (C) intended to inflict emotional harm, including an act of emotional abuse; or
4. (D) dating violence.
(14) Fraud--An intentional deception or misrepresentation made by a person with the knowledge that the deception could result in some unauthorized benefit to the person making the deception or misrepresentation or some other person. The term does not include unintentional technical, clerical, or administrative errors.
(15) Human trafficking--Trafficking that includes:
1. (A) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act is younger than 18 years of age;
2. (B) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, enticing, 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; and
3. (C) the offenses described in Texas Penal Code Chapter 20A.
(16) 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.
(17) Nonresident--An adult or child victim of family violence who receives services from an HHSC-funded shelter center without receiving shelter or is served through a nonresidential center.
(18) Nonresidential center--An HHSC-funded program that:
1. (A) is operated by a public or private nonprofit organization; and
2. (B) provides comprehensive nonresidential services to victims of family violence as outlined in §356.2101 of this chapter (relating to Nonresidential Center Services).
(19) Personally identifying information--Individually identifying information for or about an individual including information likely to disclose the location of a victim of family violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, regardless of whether the information is encoded, encrypted, hashed, or otherwise protected, including a first and last name; a home or other physical address; contact information (including a postal, email, or Internet protocol address, or telephone or facsimile number); a social security number, driver license number, passport number, or student identification number; and any other information, including date of birth, racial or ethnic background, or religious affiliation, that would serve to identify an individual.
(20) Primary prevention--Strategies, policies, and programs to stop both first-time perpetration and first-time victimization. Primary prevention is stopping family and dating violence before the violence occurs. Primary prevention includes:
1. (A) school-based violence prevention curricula;
2. (B) programs aimed at mitigating the effects on children of witnessing family or dating violence;
3. (C) community campaigns designed to alter norms and values conducive to family or dating violence;
4. (D) worksite prevention programs; and
5. (E) training and education in parenting skills and self-esteem enhancement.
(21) Program participant--An adult or child victim of family violence who receives services from an HHSC-funded nonresidential center or special nonresidential project.
(22) Resident--An adult or child victim of family violence or dating violence who is admitted to a shelter center.
(23) Secondary prevention--As defined by 45 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) §1370.2, identifying risk factors or problems that may lead to future family, domestic, or dating violence, and taking the necessary actions to eliminate the risk factors and the potential problem.
(24) Shelter center--An HHSC-funded program that:
1. (A) is operated by a public or private nonprofit organization; and
2. (B) provides comprehensive residential and nonresidential services to victims of family violence as described in §356.701 of this chapter (relating to Shelter Center Services).
(25) Special nonresidential project center--An HHSC-funded project that:
1. (A) is operated by a public or private nonprofit organization; and
2. (B) provides at least one specialized family violence service as described in §356.1401 of this chapter (relating to Special Nonresidential Project Services).
(26) Standards--The minimum HHSC requirements as stated in this chapter.
(27) Victim of family violence--Includes:
1. (A) an adult member of a family or household who is subjected to an act of family violence;
2. (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;
3. (C) a member of the family or household who may have been subjected to sexual abuse; and
4. (D) an individual who is subjected to an act of dating violence.
(28) Waste--Practices that a reasonably prudent person would deem careless or that would allow inefficient use of resources, items, or services.
(29) Written--When referring to any documentation, agreements, signage, materials, and other information or resources provided in writing to residents, nonresidents, or program participants, the term "written" encompasses information in digital format and any necessary accommodations for residents, nonresidents, or program participants with LEP, low literacy, visual impairment, and intellectual and developmental disabilities to ensure that the person is informed of all materials and relevant documents typically produced in writing. Accommodations may include:
1. (A) verbal explanations;
2. (B) pictograms;
3. (C) translation;
4. (D) interpretation; and
5. (E) large-print materials.

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; amended to be effective May 20, 2025, 50 TexReg 2970.