Subd. 15. Individual who is related.

"Individual who is related" means a spouse, a parent, a birth or adopted child or stepchild, a stepparent, a stepbrother, a stepsister, a niece, a nephew, an adoptive parent, a grandparent, a sibling, an aunt, an uncle, or a legal guardian. For purposes of family child foster care, individual who is related also includes an individual who, prior to the child's placement in the individual's home for foster care or adoption, is an important friend of the child or of the child's parent or custodian. Important friend means an individual with whom the child has previously resided or had significant contact or who has a significant relationship to the child or the child's parent or custodian.