Definition and Purpose of
Adoption |
Adoption establishes the legal relationship of
parent and child between persons who are not so related. Adopting is the method provided
by law of assuring children who cannot be cared for by their own parents the security of a
home in which they may be brought up with the same mutual rights and obligations as those
existing between children and natural parents. |
Types of
Adoption |
The various types of adoptions are as follows:
•Agency Adoption herein means adoption
placement made by the Department, by a licensed private child placing agency, or an
approved out-of-state agency and are defined as follows:
-Department Adoption herein is any adoption
placement made by the Department of a child who has been committed to the care of the
Commissioner and parental rights have been terminated and for whom the Commissioner has
been appointed the statutory parent on such child in the Superior Court for Juvenile
Matters or for whom the Commissioner has been appointed statutory parent through the
Probate Court for the purpose of placing that child in adoption.
-Private Agency Adoption herein is an agency
adoption placement made by a Connecticut private child placing agency licensed by the
Commissioner to make adoption placements.
-Out-of-State Agency Placement herein is an agency
adoption placement made by an out-of-state public or private child placing agency,
approved by the Commissioner to give a specific child in adoption in Connecticut.
•Relative Adoption is the adoption of a child
by a person(s) who is a blood relative descended from a common ancestor not more than
three generations removed from the child.
•Stepparent Adoption is the adoption of a
child by a person who, though unrelated, is the spouse of the birth or adoptive parent.
•Identified Adoptions as defined in CONN. GEN.
STAT. §45a-727, permits adoption placement of children who have been identified or
located by prospective adoptive parents. Regulations 45-63, Sections 1-10 inclusive,
implement this statutory change. If any such placement is not made in accordance with
these regulations, the Probate Court will not approve the adoption application.
•An Independent Adoption is an adoption
completed between birth parents and adoptive parents with no agency involvement. This is
illegal in Connecticut.
•An Open Adoption is one in which birth
parents or extended family members (i.e., grandparents) and adoptive parents meet on a
planned basis prior to placement and share identifying information.
|
Adoption
Review
Board |
The Adoption Review
Board has the power to waive the requirement that a minor child be placed by
the Commissioner of Children and Families or a child-placing agency if it is shown it is
in the best interest of the child. |
Adoption
Specialists |
Adoption Specialists
shall be specially trained Social Workers involved in permanency planning, facilitation of
adoption, and provision of services related thereto for children and prospective adoptive
parents. |
Adoption
Support
Group |
An Adoption Support
Group is a group of parents interested in adoption who meet regularly in order
to lend mutual support and information to each other. |
| Birth Parent |
A Birth Parent
is a child's biological or genetic parent. |
| Bonding |
Bonding is
the attachment of parent and child in a loving relationship with one another. |
| Bridging |
Bridging is
the process by which a child has the security of an old caretaker while getting used to
the new one. |
| CARE |
CARE is the
Connecticut Adoption Resource Exchange which is an unit within the Division of Children's
Protective and Family Services. Children available for adoption must be registered with
this office. |
| CARE Book Children |
The CARE Book - Children
is a book wherein hard to place children are photo listed with a short description. This
book is available to potential adoptive families. |
| CARE Book Families |
The CARE Book - Families
is a compilation of descriptions of available licensed or approved adoptive families. |
| Claiming |
Claiming is
the conscious unconditional commitment that the adoptive child is part of one's family. |
Develop-
mental
Disabilities |
Public Law 95-602 defines a developmental
disability as a severe, chronic disability resulting from a mental and/or
physical impairment manifested before age twenty-two (22), which is likely to continue
indefinitely, and which:
•substantially limits functioning in three or more of the following major areas of
life activity: self-care, mobility, learning, receptive and expressive language,
self-direction, capacity for independent living and economic self-sufficiency
•reflects the person's need for individually planned and coordinated care,
treatment or other services for life or for an extended period of time.
|
| Disruption |
Disruption is
the permanent interruption of an intended adoption between placement and legal completion
of adoption. |
| Dissolution |
Dissolution
is the relinquishment of a child following a legal adoption. |
| Finalization |
Finalization
is the procedure which completes the legal process of adoption. Adoptive parents assume
full legal rights and responsibility for child. |
Guardian
Ad Litem |
Guardian Ad Litem
is the person appointed by the court to act in behalf of minor in a legal action. |
| Interruption |
Interruption
is the temporary interruption of adoptive placement before legal completion of adoption.
Child may require specialized placement. |
Legal
Guardianship |
Legal Guardianship
is when a parent is removed as guardian of a child and a relative or the Department is
appointed as legal guardian. This action is reversible and parents may be reinstated if
factors leading to the removal have been satisfactorily resolved. |
Legal Risk
Adoption |
A Legal Risk Adoption
is where a child is placed in adoption with a family, but there is a legal risk that the
adoption will not be finalized because the court has not yet rendered a final decision on
Termination of Parental Rights or the decision has been appealed. |
| Life Book |
The Life Book
is the end result of a process by which the worker helps a child come to terms with his
past, prepare for their future, give them a sense of identify and help them understand
what has happened to them. It consists of a child's written life story, information
pertinent to the child, letters, pictures, mementoes, etc. |
| Matching |
Matching is
the process by which a suitable family is selected by a Permanency Planning Team to adopt
a particular child or children. |
| Permanency Planning |
Permanency Planning
clarifies the intent of the placement by committing to a plan which will eventually
provide a permanent home for a child. |
| Permanency Planning Team |
The Permanency Planning
Team shall include the child's treatment worker and supervisor, adoption
specialists, CARE worker, a regional manager and others as appropriate, who are
knowledgeable and experienced in selecting adoptive parents or who are knowledgeable about
the child. |
Permanent/
Long Term
Foster Care |
Permanent Foster Care
or Long Term Foster Care is when a child remains in foster care until the
age of eighteen (18). It can be used for children where adoption is not feasible. This is
a placement for children age twelve (12) and older who have been in the same foster home
for five (5) years or more. A long term foster care agreement is drawn up between the
Department and the foster family. |
| PPSP |
Permanency Placement
Services Program (PPSP). It is a statewide purchase of adoption services
programs between the Department and licensed Connecticut private adoption agencies or
out-of-state approved agencies. |
| Photo Listing |
Photo Listing
is a process by which a hard to place child who is legally free, is photographed. The
photograph and a brief description are placed in a CARE Book or in a national exchange
book for purpose of adoption. |
| Post-Placement |
Post-Placement
refers to the period after an adoptive placement has been made but prior to finalization. |
| Post-Adoption |
Post-Adoption refers
to the period after adoption finalization. |
Special Needs
Child |
A Special Needs Child
is defined in CONN. GEN. STAT. §17a-116 as a child who is difficult to place in adoption
because of one or more conditions including, but not limited to:
•physical or mental disability
•serious emotional maladjustment
•a recognized high risk of physical or mental disability
•age, racial or ethnic factors which present a barrier to adoption
•is a member of a sibling group which should be place together
•and the child established significant emotional ties between prospective adoptive
parents while the child was in their care as a foster child.
Also, the child has to be certified as a special needs child by the Commissioner of the
Department of Children and Families. |
Subsidized
Adoption |
Subsidized Adoption is
a means by which special needs children can be placed in adoption through financial
assistance. The child must meet the standards to be determined "special needs"
and the adopting family must meet the standards of any adopting family, except that it is
unable to assume complete financial responsibility for the child's care. The types of
subsidy are:
•Financial Subsidy - An agreed-upon monthly
payment to an adoptive family within the guidelines of current foster care rates.
•Medical Subsidy - Title XIX coverage for the
adoptive child or in some special cases, a lump sum payment.
|
Termination
of Parental
Rights |
Termination of Parental Rights
is the complete severance by court order of the legal relationship, with all its rights
and responsibilities, between the child and the parent(s) so that the child is free for
adoption except it shall not affect the rights of inheritance of the child or the
religious affiliation of the child until the child is adopted. |
| Termination: Voluntary or By
Consent |
Termination: Voluntary or by
Consent is when a parent agrees to sign an affidavit consenting to the
termination. |
Transcultural
Adoption |
Transcultural Adoption
is when children are placed in adoption in a home of a different culture than their own. |
Transracial
Adoption |
Transracial Adoption
is when children are placed in adoption in a home of a different race than their own. |
