Adoption Terms - A Brief Glossary

When traveling along your adoption journey, you may encounter some unfamiliar terms. While it’s helpful to know these terms, it’s also important to note that adoption professionals may use some words to mean different things, If you are unsure about anything, always ask precisely what is meant by that particular term. Here we have collected some frequently used words along with their definitions. Understanding adoption jargon will help you navigate the sometimes challenging terrain of the adoption process.

 Adoptee - The person adopted.

Adoption plan - A plan created by birth parents outlining their intent to place a child for adoption and how they want the adoption process to unfold.

Adoption tax credit - A tax credit that may reduce an adoptive family’s tax burden when adoption expenses are claimed.

Adoption triad - Also called the adoption triangle or adoption circle, this refers to the three parties involved in an adoption. The birth parents, adoptive parents, and the adopted child.

Birth Parent - The biological parent who signs the consent for adoption.

Consent to adoption - Legal permission given by birth parents, allowing the adoption to proceed.

Decree of adoption - The legal order that finalizes an adoption.

Disruption - A halt in the adoption process after the prospective adoptive parents have taken custody of the child, but before the adoption is final.

Emergency placement - Also called a hospital match or stork drop, it refers to a match made after the child has been born.

Finalization - The last legal step in the adoption process. It involves a court hearing, and the adoptive parents become the legal parents of the child.

ICPC - The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) is the law that establishes legal procedures governing the adoption of children between U.S. states.

Legal guardian - A person who has legal responsibility for the care of another individual. (Often a minor child)Legal risk placement. The placement of a child in a prospective adoptive home when the child is not yet available for adoption.

Open adoption - An adoption that allows for contact between the adoptive family and birth family before and after placement. The degree of contact varies widely with each adoption.

Photo listings - Descriptions and photos of children who are currently available for adoption.

Placement - The time period before the adoption is finalized, but the point at which a child lives with the prospective adoptive parents.

 Relative adoption - Also called kinship or family adoption, this refers to a biological relative adopting a child.

Relinquishment - The voluntary termination of parental rights.

Transracial adoption - When the adoptive parents and child are of a different race or ethnicity.

This is a brief list of adoption terms. We did not include words that most people are already familiar with. We encourage you to ask your adoption professional to explain anything that you do not completely understand. Adoption specialists do not expect you to know everything and are happy to clarify things. You may feel like a ‘fish out of water’ at the beginning of your adoption journey, but like any major life change, you adjust and grow as you move forward.

If you are considering adoption, as a birth parent or adoptive family, contact Destiny Adoption Services. Our specialists are available 24/7 to answer your questions and provide guidance.  Call or text 727-202-8966.

So if you are looking for best Florida adoption agency then you are at right place.