GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Adoption.Assistance Programs (AAP):
Federally funded state administered subsidy program for special needs children who might otherwise remain in longterm foster care.

Adoption Service Provider (ASP):
A licensed agency or individual who is State certified to assist birth parents and adoptive parents with the placement of a child in an Independent Adoption.

Agency Adoption:
Adoption that is facilitated by a State Licensed Agency that provides counseling to birthparents, homestudies to prospective adoptive parents, relinquishment services and post-placement programs for triad members. These Agencies may also provide Intercountry and Special Needs adoption services.

Consent:
Legal process through which a birth parent voluntarily agrees to make an adoption plan for their child with a specific family through an Independent Adoption.

Designated/ldentified Adoptions:
Process in which birthparents choose the individual or couple who will adopt their child and designates the placement of the child while still having the benefits of an ` agency assisted adoption.

Home Study:
A process whereby an individual or couple undergo a study by a licensed public or private agency to assure the well-being of the child in the home and the readiness of the family to adopt.

ICPC:
Interstate Compact for Placement of Children which monitors the movementof foster and adoptive children from state to state.

Independent Adoption:
An adoption that is arranged by the birth parent with an identified family; frequently facilitated by an attorney.

Open Adoption:
An adoption process in which birth parents meet and know · the adoptive parent(s). Ongoing contact could range from periodic pictures and letters to regular visits.

Open Records:
Accessibility to own adoption records by each member of the triad. This includes access to identifying information.

Relinquishment:
Legal process by which birth parents voluntarily terminate their parental rights in order to free their child for adoption through a licensed agency.

Special Needs:
Refers to children who are physically, developmentally or emotional disabled, a sibling group and-all others who might remain in foster care should no adoptive family be available.