tackling the terminology - part two

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ere are some more definitions to expand your knowledge of adoption terminology...

Adoption benefits - Compensation workers receive from their employers through employer-sponsored programs. It can be anything from financial assistance or reimbursement for adoption expenses to provision of parental or family leave beyond what is required by law. For a list of employers who provide benefits call the National Adoption Center at (800)-TO-ADOPT.

Independent adoption - An adoption facilitated by someone other than an agency. Facilitators may be attorneys, physicians or translators. In some countries independent adoptions are illegal, while in others (like Ukraine) agencies are not allowed to operate, so only independent adoptions are permitted.

Life book - A scrapbook representating the child's life designed to help him/her get a sense of their unique background and history. The life book includes as much information about the child's background as possible - birthparents, other relatives, birthplace and date, adoptive parents, court hearing information, etc.

Matching - The process of finding a family specifically suited to meet the needs of child; not to be confused with "placement".

Placement - The time when a child comes to live with the adopting parents.

Orphan - A minor child whose parents have died, have legally given up their parental rights, or whose parental rights have been terminated by a court. For immigration purposes, a child under the age of sixteen years, whose parents have died or disappeared or who has been abandoned or otherwise separated from both parents or whose sole surviving parent is impoverished by local standards and incapable of providing that child with proper care and who has, in writing, irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption. To enter the United States, an orphan must have been adopted abroad by a U.S. citizen or be admitted to the United States for the purpose of adoption by a U.S. citizen.