Adoption Glossary of Terms K to O

How to Adopt > Glossary - K to O

Adoption Glossary - K to O

kinship adoption: A kinship or relative adoption is one in which the adoptive parents are relatives who are biologically related to the child to be adopted, such as a grandparent, aunt, or cousin. In kinship adoption, as opposed to kinship care, the relatives legally adopt the child.
kinship care: A relative placement or kinship care occurs when a child is placed in the care of birthfamily members, members of their tribes or clans, godparents, stepparents, or other adults who have a kinship bond with the child. This may be an informal agreement among the parties, a formal foster care placement made with the assistance of a public agency, or a pre-adoptive placement. The relatives may be awarded custody or legal guardianship by the court. When an agency is involved in a formal foster care placement, the relative may be entitled to the same benefits and supports as other foster care parents.
legal guardianship: A guardian is a person who fulfills some of the responsibilities of a legal parent while the courts or birth parents may continue to hold other legal responsibilities for the child. Guardianship is subject to ongoing supervision by the court and ends by court order or when the child reaches the age of majority. Guardianship may be used as an alternative to adoption in some kinship care situations in which a child's relative is assuming a parental role but prefers not to adopt. In some states, such guardians are entitled to the same benefits as foster or adoptive parents.
legal risk adoption: Legal risk is a term used to describe a potential adoption in which the child to be adopted is placed with the adoptive parents prior to termination of the birthparents' rights.

An adoption placement of a child of any age is considered to be high risk if there is a strong likelihood that a birthparent or other relative will decide (and be approved) to parent. The adoption of newborn infants is often considered high risk because one or both birthparents is not yet legally final.

An adoption is considered low risk when the birthparents rights have not yet been terminated, but it is expected that they soon will be, and there is little likelihood of the child returning to his or her birthfamily.
legally free: A child is legally free for adoption when that child's birthparents' parental rights have been terminated in a court of law.
life book, life story book: A journal or scrapbook which provides a chronicle of a child's life story and personal history. A social worker, therapist, foster parent or adoptive parent can help a child to make a life book. It can then serve as a therapeutic tool to help facilitate the child's identity formation and understanding of adoption, and also provides a way to share parts of the child's life not spent with the current parents.
long term foster care: Long term foster care, also called permanent foster care, is the intentional placing of a child in foster care for an extended, and often indefinite, period of time. Long term foster care may be assigned as a goal for a child when workers believe there are no possibilities for reunification with any members of the birth family, or adoption. It is also sometimes used as a plan for teenagers who believe they do not want a permanent family and are refusing a goal of adoption.
low risk: Legal risk is a term used to describe a potential adoption in which the child to be adopted is placed with the adoptive parents prior to termination of the birthparents' rights.

An adoption is considered low risk when the rights have not yet been terminated, but it is expected that they soon will be, and there is little likelihood of the child returning to birthfamily.

An adoption placement of a child of any age is considered to be high risk if there is a strong likelihood that a birthparent or other relative will decide (and be approved) to parent. The adoption of newborn infants is often considered high risk because one or both birthparents is not yet legally final. In a situation where the birthparent is voluntarily relinquishing a child, the time period during which a birthparent can revoke consent (change his/her mind) and the adoption is at risk varies by state.
MAPP, MAPP training: Model Approach to Partnership in Parenting is a training curriculum developed by the Child Welfare Institute involving a series of classes required by many jurisdictions for those preparing to be foster or adoptive parents.
MEPA: A federal law, the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA) of 1994, prohibits the denial or delay of a child's placement in a home due to the child's or adoptive family's race, color, or national origin.

The law states that any person or government involved in adoption or foster care placements may not "deny to any person the opportunity to become an adoptive or foster parent, on the basis of the race, color, or national origin of the person or the child involved." The law also states that any person or government involved in adoption or foster care placements may not "delay or deny the placement of a child for adoption or into foster care, on the basis of race, color, or national origin of the adoptive or foster parent, or the child involved." In addition, the law requires child welfare service agencies to "provide for the diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families that reflects the ethnic and racial diversity of children in the state for whom foster and adoptive homes are needed."

The Multiethnic Placement Act was amended in 1996 by the addition of the Interethnic Adoption Provisions. Neither piece of legislation has any effect on the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.
mainstreaming: Including children with special needs in a regular classroom situation rather than isolating them in special classes or schools. A child may be mainstreamed for part of the day, or for some subjects and not others.
match, matching: In adoption, matching is the process of finding prospective families for a child. A match may refer to a family that a child's worker has selected or is strongly considering, but it also may refer to a family that the family's worker or adoption exchange worker is merely suggesting to the child's worker.
medical assistance, medical assistance card, medical card: Children who have been in the care of an adoption agency are often eligible to receive Medicaid cards, which provide for the child's health care, free of charge, as part of an adoption assistance program. This coverage is usually provided until the child is 18, 19 years old.
multicultural: Relating to, reflecting, or adapted to diverse cultures. Multicultural may be used to describe a child's heritage, a family's composition, or other things, such as a school's curriculum.
multiracial: Composed of, involving, or representing various races. This term can be applied to groups, such as a multiracial family, or individuals, or a child with a multiracial heritage.
NAATRIN: National Adoption Assistance Training Resource and Information Network.
NAC: National Adoption Center
NACAC: North American Council on Adoptable Children
NAIC: National Adoption Information Clearinghouse
No Claim to Paternity Document: A document the agency (or attorney) processing an adoption will obtain from the Child Support Enforcement Bureau that discloses if any person has filed a claim to be the father of a particular child.
non-recurring expense: Adoptive parents of children with special needs are eligible for a one-time payment of non-recurring adoption expenses, one form of assistance in financing an adoption. The amount varies by state, and can be used to cover adoption fees such as homestudy fees, court costs, and attorney fees.
OCD: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
ODD: Oppositional Defiant Disorder
older child: In today's adoption world, an older child usually refers to a school-aged child or teenager.
on hold: Hold or on hold means temporarily not available for adoption. A child may be placed on hold because an adoption is pending, because a goal change is pending, because a birth relative is interested, or because the child is currently not ready for adoption.
open adoption: An open adoption or cooperative adoption allows for some form of association between the birthfamily, adoptees, and adoptive parents. This can range from picture and letter sharing, to phone calls, contact through an intermediary, or open contact between the parties themselves. Many adoptions of older children and teens are at least partially open, since the children may know identifying or contact information about members of their birthfamilies, or may want to stay in touch with siblings placed separately.
open adoption agreement: An open adoption agreement spells out the terms of the contact between the parties in an open adoption. An open adoption agreement can specify frequency and manner of contact between adoptive and birthfamilies, and/or between siblings placed separately. However, while it may be drawn up in the form of a contract and signed by both parties, it is not legally binding.
open records: Open records refers to information contained in vital statistics records, such as an original birth certificate and adoption files, which is made available to the adoptee, adoptive parents, or others. Open records may also refer to the policy of allowing such persons access to records, upheld as the right of an adoptee in some states and jurisdictions.
orphan's court: In some jurisdictions, the court in which adoptions are finalized. An orphan's court handles estates and trusts of minors and other incapacitated persons.