Adoption Terminology

Adoption - the creation, by a court, of parental rights and responsibilities between a child and an adult, along with the termination of all parental rights and responsibilities to the child held by any other persons

Adoption Agency - Entity that provides one or more of the following services: homestudy services for potential adoptive parents, counseling for the birth parents, placement services for children in need of adoption, post placement/pre-legalization services and post legalization/finalization services.

Adoption Assistance - an individual entitlement providing financial assistance to special needs children who meet the eligibility requirements

Adoption Triad - The three primary parties affected by an adoption: the birth parents, the child and the adoptive parent(s).

Aging Out - when a youth leaves foster care because he or she has reached age 18 or has finished high school (whichever comes last).

Approved Adoptive Home - a home in which the family has been evaluated and approved for the adoptive placement of a child.

Attachment - An emotional bond between child & parent that establish a relationship and help both feel secure and connected.

Birth Parent(s) - Also called biological parent. Birth Parents have rights and responsibilities defined by law and the Constitution of the United States.

Caregiver - a person who provides the direct day-to-day care of a child during his or her placement in substitute care.

Case Management Services - activities performed to provide, record, and supervise services to a child and his parent, guardian, custodian, caretaker or substitute caregiver.

Case Plan - document that identifies strengths of the family, concerns to be resolved, and steps to be taken to help ensure permanence for the child.

Certified Foster Home - a foster home operated by persons who are certified by a public or private agency.

Child Study Inventory - a comprehensive written account about a child in the custody of an agency.

Children's Services Agency (CSA) - any agency or organization that performs a child welfare function as prescribed in its respective state statute.

Criminal Records Check - any criminal records check conducted by the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation (BCII).

Custodian - a person or agency that has legal custody of a child.

Diagnostic Services - medical, psychiatric, or psychological services performed to evaluate an individual's physical, emotional, or mental condition.

Disruption - the unplanned interruption of a child's substitute care placement that requires the transfer of the child to a subsequent substitute care placement setting.

Emancipation - A youth who is legally declared an adult (by a court) prior to age 18. A youth in foster care who emancipates is no longer a ward of the court (or in foster care).

Family Preservation Services - services for children and families designed to help families (including adoptive and extended families) at risk or in crisis.

Foster-Adopt Placement - The adoption by foster parents of a child, currently placed in their home.

Foster Care Maintenance - financial assistance for board and care of children who meet the eligibility requirements

Foster Home - a private residence in which children are received apart from their parents, guardian, or legal custodian, by an individual reimbursed for providing the children non-secure care, supervision, or training 24 hours a day.

Guardian - a person, association, or corporation that is granted authority by a probate court to exercise parental rights over a child.

Guardian ad liter - a guardian appointed by the juvenile court to represent and protect the best interest of an alleged or adjudicated abused, neglected, or dependent child.

Homestudy - Also called an adoption assessment. The process through which a potential adopter, with the assistance and guidance of an adoption agency, assesses their own skills, life experiences and strengths as balanced against the challenges and rewards of adopting a child

ICPC (Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children) - An agreement enacted in all fifty states that coordinates most types of placements of children across state lines. This includes, but is not limited to, the adoptive placement of children.

Identifying Information - Information such as name, address, place of employment, Social Security number, etc., that could significantly assist one individual in locating another individual.

Independent Adoption - An adoption facilitated by an attorney.

Independent Living - a residential arrangement in which a child age 16 years or older is partially or fully responsible for his or her individual living environment.

Individual Service Plan (ISP) - A written document describing long-range goals and short- range objectives for a foster youth

Interstate Adoption - The adoptive placement of a child (or children) who is a resident of one state with an adoptive parent(s) who is a legal resident of a different state.

Juvenile Court - A district court or another court that addresses matters affecting children younger than 18.

Kin - Individuals related by blood or adoption or a non-relative adult whom the current custodial caretaker or child identifies as having a familiar and long-standing bond with the child and/or the family.

Legal Custody - the right to have physical care and control of a child and the right and duty to protect, train, and discipline the child.

Legalization - Also called finalization. The legal act that establishes a family connection between the adopting person and the adopted person.

Legally Free for Adoption - A child is legally free when the parental rights of both birth parents have been terminated and the time period for the birth parents to appeal the decision is over.

Life Book - A chronological record of a child's life, usually in a photo album or binder, created by the child and/or the caregivers, that documents for the child, in concrete ways, the events and relationships important to the child. It may include photographs, mementos, descriptions, etc. that help the child understand their biological origins and others who have played a significant role in their life.

Mental Illness - a substantial disorder of thought, mood, perception, orientation, or memory that grossly impairs judgment, behavior, capacity to recognize reality, or ability to meet the ordinary demands of life.

Mental Retardation - the condition of significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning.

Mentor - an individual who is specifically trained and assigned to a child or family to assist the child or family deal with day-to-day situations.

Non-Recurring Adoption Expenses - One time expenses incurred by person adopting a child, such as travel cost, legal cost, and homestudy related cost. These are reimbursable through federal and local funds when adopting a waiting child.

OAPL (Ohio Adoption Photo Listings) - Photos and descriptions of children throughout Ohio who are legally free and waiting for adoption. Approved and waiting may also be photo listed

ODJFS - Ohio Department of Job and Family Services

Open Adoption/Openness - A wide continuum of options within adoption that recognizes the child's connection to both the birth family and the adoptive family. Can range from the sharing of only very basic information, to exchange of information through a third party, to total information sharing and ongoing contact.

PCPA - private child placing agency (see below)

PCSA - public children's services agency (see below)

Parental Rights - the authority of a child's parents to make all decisions regarding his or her care and control.

Permanent Custody - a legal status that vests in a PCSA or a PCPA, all parental rights, duties, and obligations, including the right to consent to adoption, and divests the natural parents or adoptive parents of all parental rights, privileges, and obligations.

Permanent Surrender - the act of the parents by voluntary agreement to transfer the permanent custody of the child to a PCSA or PCPA.

Pre-Adoptive Infant Foster Home - a foster home for the care of a child who was less than six months of age when the agreement was executed.

Pre-Service Training Program - a training program designed to provide caregivers with an understanding of the needs of an abused, neglected, or dependent child, or a child with special needs.

Private Child Placing Agency (PCPA) - any association that accepts temporary, permanent, or legal custody of children and places the children for foster care or adoption.

Private Non-Custodial Agency (PNA) - any person, organization, association, or society certified by ODJFS that does not accept temporary or permanent legal custody of children and that is privately operated in this state.

Public Children's Services Agency (PCSA) - an entity that has assumed the powers and duties of the children's services function for a county.

Putative Father Registry - A mechanism that allows birth fathers to identify themselves for the purpose of establishing their legal right to notifications should an adoptive plan be under consideration for their child.

Respite Care - alternative care provided for a child placed in a specialized foster home when the plan is to return the child to the same specialized foster home at the end respite care period.

Reunification - services to address family problems that caused the separation of a youth from his or her family.

Special Needs Child - a child who has at least one need or circumstance that may be perceived as a barrier to placement or adoption.

Support System - relatives, mentors, and caregivers who help children or families develop independent-living decision-making, planning, and time-management skills.

Surrender - Also known as relinquishment. The voluntary termination of parental rights by birth parent.

Surrogate Parent - a person (usually a foster parent or care provider) who is appointed by the Department of Education to make sure that a youth's special education needs are met.

Temporary Custody - legal custody of a child who is removed from his or her home.

Therapeutic Counseling - psychiatric or psychological services provided to correct or alleviate mental or emotional illness or disorder.

Waiting child - a child who is in the permanent custody of a PCSA and awaiting adoption.

This project funded in part by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau, Adoption Opportunity Demonstration Grant #90 CO 0995, Adoption in Ohio's Heartland.