Special Needs and Adoption-Related Terms: Adoption terms and special needs words may vary from agency to agency.The terms used in this Special Needs Adoption-Related Glossary may be slightly different from one State to another.
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- Parens patriae: Legal term that defines the State’s legal role as the guardian to protect the interests of children who cannot take care of themselves. For example, in an abuse or neglect case, this concept is used to explain the State’s duty to protect minor children who lack proper care and custody from their parents.
- Paternity testing: Genetic testing that can determine the identity of the biological father. Paternity testing can be done with or without access to the biological mother.
- Permanency planning: The systematic process of carrying out (within a brief, time-limited period) a set of goal-directed activities designed to help children live in permanent families. This process has the goal of providing the child continuity of relationships with nurturing parents or caretakers and the opportunity to establish lifetime family relationships.
- Photolisting book: A publication that contains photos and descriptions of children who are available for adoption.
- Pica: Is an eating disorder typically defined as the persistent eating of non-nutritive substances for a period of at least one month occurring at an age in which this behavior is developmentally inappropriate. The definition is occasionally broadened to include mouthing of non-nutritive substances.
- Placement date: The time at which the child comes to live with the adopting parents.
- Post Adoption Depression A real form of depression that can occur with some adoptive parents.
- Post-legal adoption services: Services provided subsequent to legal finalization of the adoption. There are primarily four types of post-legal service providers: social service agencies, private therapists, mental health clinics and self-help groups.
- Post-placement supervision: The range of counseling and agency services provided to the adopted parents and adopted child subsequent to the child’s adoptive placement and before the adoption is legally finalized in court. Social worker reports of this required supervisory period are forwarded to the court.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): A condition in which victims of overwhelming and uncontrollable experiences are subsequently psychologically affected by feelings of intense fear, loss of safety, loss of control, helplessness, and extreme vulnerability and in children the disorder involves disorganized or agitated behavior.
- Prenatal substance exposure: Fetal exposure to maternal drug and alcohol use which can significantly increase the risk for developmental and neurological disabilities. The effects can range from severe (neurological damage and growth retardation) to minor (resulting in normal outcomes). Infant and child long-term development depends not only on the prenatal exposure (type of drug, amount, length of time of use), but on factors related to the child’s own biological vulnerability and environmental conditions.
- Psychological parent: A person, though perhaps not biologically related to a child, whom the child considers as his parent; sometimes called a “de facto” parent.
- Putative Father: Legal term for the alleged or supposed father of a child. Generally regarded to be true.
Putative father registries: Registry system that serves to ensure that a birthfathers’ rights are protected. Some states require that birthfathers register at these facilities, while other states presume that he does not wish to pursue paternity rights if he doesn’t initiate any legal action.
For more information about parenting special needs children you might want to visit the Families.com Special Needs Blog and the Mental Health Blog. Or visit my personal website.
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