Commonly Used Adoption Words and Phrases
Adoptee—a commonly used, but not very positive, term for someone who has been adopted. A more positive way to phrase would be, “a child or person who has been adopted.”
Adoption—a permanent, legally binding arrangement through which a person, usually a child or teenager, becomes a member of a new family. In this arrangement, persons other than the birth parents assume all parental rights and obligations. The birth parents no longer have these rights and obligations and are no longer the legal parents of the child.
Adoption Agency—an organization that is licensed to prepare families to adopt children and/or place waiting children with adoptive families.
Adoptive Family—a person or persons who become the permanent parents through adoption, with all the social rights, legal rights, and responsibilities of any parent.
Adoption Petition—the legal document through which prospective parents request the court’s permission to adopt a specific child.
Adoption Placement—the point at which a child begins to live with prospective adoptive parents; the period before the adoption is finalized.
Adoption Plan—an individual plan a particular set of birth parents makes for the adoption of their child.
Adoption Professional—employee of a licensed adoption agency who has training and experiences in adoption services and is authorized by the agency to provide adoption services.
Adoptive Parent—person(s) who legally assume parental rights/responsibilities for an adopted child.
Agency Adoption—adoptive placements made by licensed organizations that screen prospective adoptive parents and supervise the placement of children in adoptive homes until the adoption is finalized.
Biological Child—the child of parents by birth.
Biracial—an individual whose racial heritage includes two different races.
Birth Father—biological father of a child that is adopted or planning to be adopted.
Birth Mother—biological mother of a child that is adopted or planning to be adopted.
Birth Parent—a child’s biological parent.
Birth Family, Birth Relatives—any individuals related by birth, as opposed to relatives in the family that adopted that individual. Birth families include extended families as well as birth parents and siblings.
Caseworker—a social worker who is responsible for working on a particular client’s case.
Central Adoption Registry—a file maintained by the Department of Human Services in Lansing, MI which contains statements by birth parents and adult birth siblings giving consent or denial to the release of identifying information about themselves to an adult adoptee who is searching.
Closed Adoption (Traditional Adoption)—adoption in which confidentiality of both adoptive parents and birth parents are protected under the law; the courts seal all records.
Confidential Information—usually refers to private information about a waiting child or child’s birth family, which is not shared with the general public and may be only partially shared with the adoptive family. Confidential information might include the birth parents’ last names, addresses, names and addresses of siblings, reasons why the child came into placement, information about physical or sexual abuse, birth parents’ history of substance abuse, criminal history, reasons the child moved from previous foster or adoptive homes, and in-depth information about the child’s health.
Confidentiality—the legally required process of keeping identifying or other significant information private; the ethical practice which requires social workers and other professional not to disclose information about a client without the client’s consent.
Consent Form—the legal document signed by the biological mother and possibly the father allowing the child to be placed for adoption with a specific family. It is one way to process an adoption.
Consent to Adopt or Consent to Adoption—legal permission for the adoption to proceed.
Counseling—a process through which a person can receive assistance in sorting through issues and reaching decisions appropriate to their life circumstances. Counseling for adoption should be done by trained, experienced, adoption counselors.
Custody—the legal responsibility for the care and maintenance of a child.
Decree of Adoption—the legal order issued by a court that finalizes an adoption. In Michigan it is typically issued six months to the day that the child was placed with the adopting family.
Designated Adoption—a situation in which a birth mother and an adoptive couple are introduced or connected and decide to make an adoption plan before an agency is involved. An agency can then facilitate the placement that has been arranged, handling all paperwork and legal aspects of the adoption for both parties.
Domestic Adoption—an adoption within the same country in which the adoptive parents reside; the adoption of a U.S. child by a family residing in the United States.
Emergency Service Provider (ESP)—in the context of the Safe Delivery of Newborns law, a hospital, fire station, police department, or an EMT responding to an emergency call (911) placed by one of the birth parents.
Extended Family—a child’s relatives (other than parents and siblings) such as aunts, uncles, grandparents, and sometimes even close friends.
Final Adoption Decree—legal document issued by the court that completes the adoption.
Financial Assistance—the Adoption Code (law) of the state of Michigan and of many other states permits the payment of actual living expenses for the birth mother during her pregnancy and for six weeks after the delivery. The expenses are reviewed and approved by the court facilitating the adoption.
Genealogy—a family’s genetic “line,” family tree, or a record of such ancestry.
Guardian—a person who fulfills some of the responsibilities of the legal parent role, although the courts or birth parents may continue to hold some jurisdiction of the child. Guardians do not have the same reciprocal rights of inheritance as birth or adoptive parents. Guardianship is subject to ongoing supervision by the court and ends at the child’s majority or by order of the court.
Home Study—an assessment of a family’s suitability for adoption. Typically, there are a series of interviews with a qualified counselor who collects information and impressions of the family. A formal report containing this assesment, along with references, police reports, and medical examinations, is then issued and the family is approved for adoption. This report will be submitted to the court facilitating the adoption.
Host Care—in some circumstances it may be necessary for the child being adopted to be placed in temporary care between his/her discharge from the hospital and the placement in the adoptive home. Host care is provided by loving parents who are approved by an agency. The adoptive parents may visit the child every day while he/she is in host care.
Identifying Information—information about birth parents which discloses their identities.
International Adoption—adoption of a child born outside of the United States.
Interracial—refers to a couple, family, or other group which includes individuals who are members of different races. This differs from the term “biracial” which refers to an individual whose racial heritage includes two different races.
Interstate Adoption—the adoption of a child who is a resident of one state by individuals who are residents of another state.
Legal Father—a father of a child being placed for adoption whom the court recognizes to have equal rights as the birth mother. A father is considered a legal father if he was married to the mother at the time of conception or at any time during the pregnancy. It is possible that a legal father may not be the biological father.
Legal Guardian—a person who is authorized by a court to make certain, specified decisions for a minor child or an adult who is unable to make his/her own decisions. This is NOT an adoption. It is a temporary authorization and does not terminate the legal rights of a parent.
Link—when an adoptive family is officially chosen by a birth mother and they choose to move forward with the adoption plan of that child.
Matched Adoption—a placement where a birth mother chooses an adoptive family from pre-approved couples waiting to adopt. This term is also used when the birth mother does not want to be involved in choosing the adoptive family and asks the agency to identify a family for her.
Maternity Home—residences for pregnant women.
Multi-Racial—refers to a child who has a heritage of two or more races.
Non-Identifying Information—the medical and social history along with other information exchanged between birth parents and adoptive parents without using names, addresses or other identifying information of both parties.
Open Adoption—an adoption where birth parents and adoptive parents meet, names and addresses may be exchanged, and communication may continue indefinitely.
Openness Agreement—spells out the terms of the contact between the parties in an open adoption. An open agreement can specify frequency and manner of contact between adoptive and birth families, 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.
Orphan—a child that has no parents or only one parent that cannot care for them.
Orphanage—an institution that houses children who are orphaned, abandoned, or whose parents are unable to care for them. Orphanages are rarely used in the United States, although they are frequently used in other countries.
Parent or Caretaker—person responsible for the care of the child.
Petition—written request to the court for legal custody, guardianship and/or adoption of a child.
Placement— the point at which a child begins to live with prospective adoptive parents; the period before the adoption is finalized.
Positive Adoption Language—refers to words or phrases that depict adoption in a favorable, or neutral, manner.
Post-Placement—the period after a child has been placed in an adoptive home. Usually refers to the period before legal finalization.
Post-Placement Supervision—providing support and supervision to the adoptive family between the time of placement and finalization. Post-placement supervision is required and usually includes a specified number of visits to the family’s home over a specified period of time with written reports submitted to the court.
Private Adoption Agencies—non-governmentaln not-for-profit agencies licensed by the state to provide adoption services.
Pregnancy-Related Expenses—Michigan law allows birth mothers to receive financial assistance for certain expenses related to pregnancy. These expenses can include medical care, maternity clothes, groceries, and some other living and transportation costs incurred because of the pregnancy.
Profile—written by a pre-approved couple waiting to adopt, this summary includes pictures and tells who they are, what their lives are like, and their plans for the future. Profiles are shown to birth parents when they are selecting an adoptive family for their child.
Prospective Adoptive Family—a family interested in adopting a child or children.
Public Adoption Agencies—governmental adoption agency or social services department providing adoption services, primarily dealing with older children in foster care.
Putative Father— the alleged birth father. He may or may not verify that he is in fact the father.
Relative Adoption—an adoption in which the adopter is biologically related to the adopted child.
Release or Surrender— the voluntary agreement by a birth mother to terminate her parental rights in order to make adoption possible for her child. This is a legally binding, permanent procedure which involves the signing of legal documents, (usually in a private court hearing), and then a court order is issued.
Release Hearing—the court process wherein a birth parent voluntarily signs legal documents terminating his or her legal rights to a child.
Safe Delivery of Newborns—Michigan law allows a birth parent to surrender a healthy newborn (up to 72 hours old) to an Emergency Service Provider (ESP) with no criminal consequences. The ESP contacts a licensed child placing agency to assume care and temporary protective custody of the child, and to make arrangements for immediate placement of the child into the home of a prospective adoptive family with a completed home study. More than half the states have similar “abandoned baby” laws.
Semi-Open Adoption—an adoption in which a child’s birth parents and adoptive parents may exchange primarily non-identifying information and have personal meetings before the adoptive placement. After the child is placed in the adoptive home, contact with the birth family may involve letters or pictures or other communications sent through the intermediary of the adoption agency.
Social Worker—a person who completes home studies and works with birth parents and adoptive families in adoption situations.
Stepparent Adoption—the adoption of a child by the new spouse of the birth parent.
Termination of Parental Rights (TPR)—the legal process which terminates or ends a parents rights to a child after a birth mother has voluntarily signed a release of her rights or a consent to an adoptive placement with a specific family. This also happens when a court terminates parental rights due to neglect, abuse, or abandonment.
Traditional Adoption—an adoption in which no identifying information about the birth family or adoptive family is shared, and there is no contact between birth parents and adoptive parents. After finalization, the records are sealed and typically are not available to the adopted child. Equivalent to a closed adoption. This is still an option for birth mothers, but seldom done today.
Transracial Adoption—a situation in which a family adopts a child who is of another race.
Waiting Period—typically refers to the time period which must lapse between birth and the time the consent to the adoption can be signed by the birth parents (varies from state to state).
