Adoption Glossary

Referral-

Custody-The care, control, and maintenance of a child which can be legally awarded by the court to an agency (in abuse and neglect cases) or to parents (in divorce, separation, or adoption proceedings). Child welfare departments retain legal custody and control of major decisions for a child in foster care; foster parents do not have legal custody of the children they care for.

Birth Parent- natural parent, first parent, parent who lost a child to adoption, parent

Closed Adoption- An adoption that involves total confidentiality and sealed records.

Open Adoption- An adoption that involves ongoing contact between birth and adoptive families, including visits.

Multi Ethnic Placement Act (MPEA)- A federal law enacted in 1994 and implemented through State policy. The Multi-Ethnic Placement Act of 1994, amended in 1996 to include the Removal of Barriers to InterEthnic Adoption (IEP), Section 1808 of P.L. 104-188 [42 USC 1996b], prohibits the delay or denial of any adoption or placement in foster care due to the race, color, or national origin of the child or the foster or adoptive parents by any agency or individual receiving federal funding, and requires States to provide for diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families who reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children for whom homes are needed. MEPA-IEP (as the full Act is known) does not apply to children covered under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).

Legal Guardian- A person who has legal responsibility for the care and management of a person who is incapable of administering his own affairs. In the case of a minor child, the guardian is charged with the legal responsibility for the care and management of the child and of the minor child's estate.

Interethnic Placement Provisions- Refers to Section 1808 of P.L. 104-188, Removal of Barriers to Interethnic Adoption Provisions. Added to the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act in 1996, the IEP underscores the prohibition against delaying or denying the placement of a child for adoption or foster care on the basis of race, color or national origin of the foster or adoptive parents or of the child involved [42 USC 1996b]. MEPA-IEP (full acronym of the law) applies to those receiving federal funding, and (to the best of this writer's knowledge) does not apply to those covered under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).


Intercountry/ International Adoption- The adoption of a child who is a citizen of one country by adoptive parents who are citizens of a different country.

Dossier- A set of legal documents which are used in an international adoption to process a child's adoption or assignment of guardianship in the foreign court.

Consent To Adopt- Legal permission for the adoption to proceed.

Blended Families- families with biological and adopted children and or families with children of different races.