Washington State

ADOPTION: The legal creation of a parent-child relationship. Adopted children are treated as natural children of the adoptive parents for all legal purposes, including inheritance rights.

SUBSIDIZED ADOPTION: A program that allows adoptive parents of a special needs child to receive payments to help meet the special needs of the child.

DEPENDENT CHILD: A child who has been abandoned; or who is abused or neglected by a person who is responsible for the child’s care; or who has no parent, guardian or custodian capable of adequately caring for the child and the child is in danger or substantial psychological or physical danger.

DEPENDENCY: A legal proceeding to have the court determine whether a child is a dependent child and if so, to order appropriate remedies to end the dependency of the child.

DEPENDENCY GUARDIAN: A person, non-profit corporation or Indian Tribe appointed by the court to assume authority for a child during the dependency action.

FOSTER PARENT: A person who meets the legal requirements to be a foster parent, is licensed by the state to have foster children placed in his/her home and is provided state financial support.

GRANDPARENT: The parents of the mother or father of a child, including adoptive children. Step-Grandparents are not considered grandparents for most legal purposes.

GUARDIAN: A person or agency who is given legal rights regarding a child who is not dependent. These rights may be limited by the court, but can include custody, authority to make medical decisions, decision about education and financial decisions.

GUARDIAN AD LITEM: A person who is appointed by the court and paid to represent the best interests of the child in legal proceedings.

COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE (CASA): A volunteer working with the court to provide volunteer guardians ad letem for children in dependency and/or family court matters.

OUT OF HOME CARE: Placement of a child away from her/his home, usually in relative care, a foster home, group care home or with another responsible adult who is not the child’s parent or guardian.

PETITION: A request for relief. In a legal action petitions are usually written and filed with the court, requesting the court to take, or not to take, some action.

PREVENTIVE SERVICES: Services offered to a family to prevent out-of-home care while still protecting the child.

PERMANENCY PLAN: In dependency actions this is the long-term plan for the care of the child. The permanency plan may include return of the child to the parent, guardian or legal custodian; termination of parental rights and adoption; dependency guardianship; entry of an order of permanent legal custody; or long-term relative or foster care. The plan is usually formed by DSHS with input from others involved in the case.

PERMANENT CUSTODY: A placement option that allows a child to be placed permanently and grants the custodian rights to make decisions on behalf of the child. Once the court orders permanent custody, the dependency is dismissed and juvenile court hearings are no longer needed.

TANF: Temporary Assistance to Needed Families. This program of benefits replaces AFDC, which is no longer available. TANF is different from AFDC in several ways. One major difference is that a person may get TANF benefits for 60 months maximum and must enroll in a work program. However if a child is the only one receiving TANF benefits in a family, those benefits are not counted against the 60 months limit. This is called a child-only benefit. There are also family benefits.

TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS: A legal procedure that ends the legal relationship between a child and parent. Parental rights are protected rights and are terminated by court order only when the court has sufficient reason to do so and after notice and hearing are given to the parents. After both parents’ parental rights are terminated a child is available for adoption.