# Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.021: 211.021 Definitions

> Missouri · Statutes · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.021

## Section

- **Citation:** Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.021
- **Heading:** 211.021 Definitions
- **Jurisdiction:** Missouri
- **Kind:** Statutes
- **Status:** In force
- **Text as of:** August 14, 2026
- **Source:** Compiled text
- **Location:** MO Code / Chapter 211 / Section 211.021

## Text

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.

(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 (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.

## Nearby sections

- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.011 211.011 Purpose of law — how construed.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.011.md)
- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.012 211.012 Status as child determined by then-existing law at time of alleged offense ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.012.md)
- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.021 211.021 Definitions.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.021.md)
- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.023 211.023 Juvenile court commissioner, appointment, where, term, compensation.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.023.md)
- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.025 211.025 Judge may direct any case be heard by commissioner (counties of the first ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.025.md)
- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.027 211.027 Findings of commissioner, how submitted — notice of right to file motion ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.027.md)
- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.029 211.029 Rehearing, motion filed when — judge may sustain or deny — commissioner's ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.029.md)
- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.031 211.031 Juvenile court to have exclusive jurisdiction, when — exceptions — home ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.031.md)
- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.032 211.032 Child abuse and neglect hearings, when held, procedure — supreme court ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.032.md)
- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.033 211.033 Detention for violation of traffic ordinances — no civil or criminal ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.033.md)
- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.034 211.034 Extension of juvenile court jurisdiction permitted, when — procedure — ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.034.md)
- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.036 211.036 Custody of released youth may be returned to children's division, when — ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.036.md)
- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.037 211.037 Nonoffending parent, child returned to custody of, when.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.037.md)
- [Mo. Rev. Stat. § 211.038 211.038 Children not to be reunited with parents or placed in a home, when — ...](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.038.md)

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MO_C211_S211.021. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.