Dictionary of adoption

From WikiMD's Food, Medicine & Wellness Encyclopedia

The Dictionary of Adoption encompasses an array of terms and concepts associated with the adoption process. Adoption is the legal act of permanently placing a child with a parent or parents other than the birth parents. This dictionary is designed to help prospective adoptive parents, adoptees, professionals, and the general public understand the complex language of adoption.

A[edit | edit source]

  • Adoption agency - An organization, either private or public, licensed to place children with adoptive parents.
  • Adoptive parents - Individuals who become the legal parents of a child through the process of adoption.

B[edit | edit source]

  • Biological parents - The birth mother and birth father of a child.
  • Bonding - The process of developing a close emotional relationship between parents and their adopted child.

C[edit | edit source]

  • Closed adoption - An adoption where identifying information is sealed and unavailable to all parties.
  • Consent to adopt - Legal permission for an adoption to proceed.

D[edit | edit source]

  • Domestic adoption - The adoption of a child who is a citizen of the same country as the adoptive parents.
  • Disruption - The interruption of an adoption prior to finalization, resulting in the child's legal return to foster care or to the biological parents.

E[edit | edit source]

  • Ethical adoption practice - Standards of professional conduct that guide agencies and individuals in the execution of responsible adoptions.
  • Emancipation - The legal process by which a minor becomes self-supporting and assumes adult responsibility for their welfare.

F[edit | edit source]

  • Foster care - A temporary arrangement in which a child is placed under the care of a state-certified caregiver until permanent placement is made.
  • Finalization of adoption - The legal process that makes the adoption of a child official and permanent.

G[edit | edit source]

  • Guardian ad litem - A person appointed by the court to represent the best interests of the child during legal proceedings.
  • Genetic history - Information about the biological family's medical and genetic background.

H[edit | edit source]

  • Home study - A process that evaluates a prospective adoptive family’s suitability to adopt a child.
  • Heritage - The cultural background and identity of the biological family.

I[edit | edit source]

J[edit | edit source]

  • Judicial consent - Legal approval by a judge for the adoption to proceed.
  • Juvenile court - The court that has jurisdiction over matters concerning children, including adoption.

K[edit | edit source]

  • Kinship care - The care of children by relatives or close family friends (often referred to as fictive kin).
  • Knowingness - The state or quality of being informed about one's adoption and heritage.

L[edit | edit source]

  • Legal guardian - A person who has the legal authority to care for the personal and property interests of another person.
  • Legitimation - The legal process by which a child born out of wedlock becomes legitimate in the eyes of the law.

M[edit | edit source]

  • Match - The appropriate pairing of adoptive parents with an adoptive child.
  • Medical history - A record of health information about a child and their biological family.

N[edit | edit source]

  • Non-identifying information - Information provided to the adoptive family that does not disclose the identities of the biological parents.
  • Notarization - The official fraud-deterrent process that assures the parties of a transaction that a document is authentic and can be trusted.

O[edit | edit source]

  • Open adoption - An adoption that involves some degree of contact or information exchange between birth and adoptive families.
  • Orphan - A child whose parents have died, disappeared, or permanently abandoned them.

P[edit | edit source]

Q[edit | edit source]

R[edit | edit source]

  • Re-adoption - The process of adopting a child in a second jurisdiction, often in another country after an international adoption.
  • Relative adoption - Adoption by a biological relative of the child.

S[edit | edit source]

  • Special needs adoption - The adoption of children with physical, emotional, or developmental disabilities.
  • Surrogacy - An arrangement in which a woman agrees to carry and give birth to a child for another person or couple.

T[edit | edit source]

U[edit | edit source]

  • Unaccompanied minor - A child who is not in the company of either parent or a legal guardian.
  • Uniform Adoption Act - A model law created to standardize adoption procedures across different states.

V[edit | edit source]

  • Voluntary relinquishment - When a parent willingly surrenders their rights to their child for adoption.
  • Visitation rights - The right granted by a court to a birth parent to visit their child after placement.

W[edit | edit source]

  • Waiting children - Children in foster care who are waiting for adoption, often because they are older or have special needs.
  • Waiting period - The mandated time period before an adoption can be finalized.

X[edit | edit source]

  • Xenogeneic adoption - A term sometimes used to describe international adoptions, emphasizing the crossing of national or cultural boundaries.

Y[edit | edit source]

  • Yearly updates - Annual reports that adoptive parents might share with the birth family detailing the child’s development and milestones.

Z[edit | edit source]

  • Zero tolerance policy - Policies that permit no exception, often related to the regulation of adoption processes to prevent unethical practices.

List of adoption related articles[edit | edit source]



External links[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]




Glossaries, dictionaries, and lists in WikiMD[edit source]

Popular Glossaries Dictionaries Lists & Glossaries Topics
Medical dictionary
Medical dictionary

Additional Resources:[edit source]

Wiki.png

Navigation: Wellness - Encyclopedia - Health topics - Disease Index‏‎ - Drugs - World Directory - Gray's Anatomy - Keto diet - Recipes

Search WikiMD

Ad.Tired of being Overweight? Try W8MD's physician weight loss program.
Semaglutide (Ozempic / Wegovy and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) available.
Advertise on WikiMD

WikiMD is not a substitute for professional medical advice. See full disclaimer.

Credits:Most images are courtesy of Wikimedia commons, and templates Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY SA or similar.


Retrieved from "https://wikimd.com/w/index.php?title=Dictionary_of_adoption&oldid=5030078"

Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD