(a) Foster care of children means all activities and functions provided relative to the care of a child away from his home 24 hours per day in a foster family free home or a duly certified or approved foster family boarding home or a duly certified group home, agency boarding home, child care institution, health care facility or any combination thereof.

(b) Standards of administration for foster care include the following:

(c) Foster child means a person who meets the following criteria contained in paragraphs (1) through (3) of this subdivision or the criteria contained in paragraph (4) of this subdivision:

(d) Foster family boarding home means a residence owned, leased, or otherwise under the control of a single person or family who has been certified or approved by an authorized agency or is used by a local probation department, the State Department of Mental Hygiene or the Office of Children and Family Services to care for children, and such person or family receives payment from the agency for the care of such children. Such home may care for not more than six children, including all children under the age of 13 residing in the home, whether or not they are received for board. However, up to two additional children may be cared for if such children are siblings, or are siblings of a child living in the home, or are part of a minor parent/child unit as defined in 427.2(s) of this Part, or are children freed for adoption and placed for adoption with the person(s) who have been certified or approved as foster parents. Such home may exceed these limits only to receive for board a child or children returning to that foster family boarding home pursuant to section 443.6 of this Title.

(e) Foster family free home care shall mean care provided to a foster child, at no cost to an authorized agency, by a family other than that of the child' s parent, stepparent, grandparents, brother, sister, uncle, aunt or legal guardian for the purpose of adoption or for the purpose of providing care.

(f) Institution means a facility established for the 24-hour care and maintenance of 13 or more children, operated by a child care agency.

(g) Group residence means an institution for the care and maintenance of not more than 25 children, operated by an authorized agency.

(h) Group home means a family-type home for the care and maintenance of not less than seven nor more than 12 children who are at least five years of age, operated by an authorized agency, in quarters or premises owned, leased, or otherwise under the control of such agency; except that such minimum age shall not be applicable to siblings placed in the same facility, nor to children whose mother is placed in the same facility.

(i) Agency boarding home means a family-type home for the care and maintenance of not more than six children operated by an authorized agency, in quarters or premises owned, leased, or otherwise under the control of such agency; except that such a home may provide care for more than six brothers and sisters of the same family.

(j) District foster care apportionment amount means the dollar amount specified by the department, in accordance with subdivision (1) of section 153-e of the Social Services Law, as the maximum amount of expenditures by a local social services district for the care and maintenance of children out of their homes which are eligible for reimbursement by the State and Federal governments.

(k) Excess foster care expenditures means the amount of a district's foster care expenditures which exceed the district foster care apportionment amount.

(l) Interim approval means that funds expended before the approval of the application for reimbursement of excess foster care expenditures shall be reimbursed, but that such reimbursement shall be refunded to the State, if approval is denied.

(m) Natural disaster means any occurrence which serves as the basis for an official declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor of the State of New York or the President of the United States.

(n) Application means a written request to the State Department of Social Services for reimbursement of excess foster care expenditures.

(o) Emergency, extraordinary or unforeseen circumstance means any event, condition, or set of events or conditions which are outside the reasonable control of the local social services district and which have not occurred in the years from which data were drawn to develop the district foster care apportionment amount and which have a substantial impact on the district.

(p) Children who are refugees means children who:

(q) Children who are Cuban/Haitian entrants means children who:

(r) An unaccompanied refugee minor or an unaccompanied entrant minor means a person who:

(s) Minor parent/child unit means a family consisting of a foster child or an adopted child who is a minor parent and the child or children of such minor parent residing together in the same foster family home, residential facility or adoptive home.

(t) Supervised independent living program means one or more of a type of agency boarding home operated and certified by an authorized agency in accordance with the regulations of the Office of Children and Family Services to provide a transitional experience for older youth who, based upon circumstances, are appropriate for transition to the level of care and supervision provided in the program.

(u) Supervised independent living unit means a home or apartment certified in accordance with the standards set forth in part 449 of this Title by an authorized agency approved by the Office of Children and Family Services to operate a supervised independent living program for the care of up to four youth including their children. Each supervised independent living unit must be located in the community separate from any of the authorized agency's other congregate dwellings.