* Editor's Blog * - Common Terms used in the Adoption Community

08/14/07

Common Terms used in the Adoption Community

Posted by : Coley S. in Editor's Blog Blog at 10:37 am , 352 words, 213 views
Categories: Adoption Glossaries

If you are new to the adoption world, you may be coming across some words and terms that are unfamiliar to you. Below is a list of common words used in the adoption community.

Adoptee- Refers to the person that has been adopted

Adoption decree – Legal order that finalizes the adoption to the adoptive parents

Adoptive parents, adoptive father, adoptive mother - Refers to the people who are parenting the child.

Birthparents, Birthmother, and Birthfather – Refers to the people who biologically created the child. NOTE: Do not use birthmother to refer to an expectant mother considering adoption. She does not become a birthmother until she signs relinquishment papers.

Closed adoption – In this type of adoption birth parents do not meet the adoptive parents and no contact is maintained after the birth and placement of the child.

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Confidential Adoption - a more up-to-date term for closed adoption.

Familial adoption – Adoptions in which the adoptive parents and birthparents are related in some way. Also known as kinship or interfamily adoptions.

Home study – Assessment of the adoptive parents’ ability to provide a healthy and happy home. All adoptive parents must complete a home study before adopting. The home study includes background checks, doctors’ reports, financial information, etc.. and is typically done by a licensed social worker.

Open adoption – Refers to adoptions where the birth parents and adoptive parents have met and have some level of ongoing contact with each other. Contact can include letters, pictures, visits, etc. There are various degrees of open adoption.

Openness Agreement – Document that states the intended amount of contact in an open adoption between the adoptive parents and the birthparents. These are not legally enforceable. Also can be called post adoption contact agreement.

Relinquishment papers – A legal document that birth parents must sign terminating their parental rights.

Semi open adoption – Birthparents and adoptive parents may meet prior to the birth of the child, but do not know identifying information about each other. Contact can be maintained through a 3rd party.