An individual’s ability to effectively communicate, convey, negotiate or assert his or her own interests, desires, needs, and rights. It involves making informed decisions and taking responsibility for those decisions.
An individual’s ability to effectively communicate, convey, negotiate or assert his or her own interests, desires, needs, and rights. It involves making informed decisions and taking responsibility for those decisions.
Sexual abuse is any type of sexual contact between an adult and anyone younger than 18, or between a significantly older child and a younger child. If a family member sexually abuses another family member, this is called incest.
Sexually transmitted diseases (also known as STDs) and once called venereal diseases or VD) are infectious diseases that spread from person to person through intimate contact.
Temporary housing for a young person who needs an immediate safe place to live.
Brother or sister.
A licensed professional who gives children and families support. Social workers play a key role in the recruitment of qualified foster parents, placing children in supportive homes, and coordinating available resources for families.
Children that are more difficult to provide foster care services or placements for because they are older, or have some form of physical, mental, emotional, or developmental challenge, or who are multi-ethnic or biracial children. This definition also includes children that are part of a sibling group that are expected to do better if they were placed in a foster home together.
Services that can bring a family back together by working on the problems that caused the separation of the youth from the family.
Temporary care for a youth in foster care, intended to give either the youth or foster parent (or provider) a break.
A very strong stress reaction that can develop after a traumatic event. Abuse, witnessing or experiencing any type of personal or environmental disaster, or being threatened with an assault can lead to PTSD. Symptoms may include: strong emotions, jitters, and trouble sleeping, eating, or concentrating. A person with PTSD might experience frequent thoughts and images of what happened, nightmares, or fears. The right care and support can reduce or eliminate these symptoms and allow a person to move on.
After an agency finds that a child is experiencing or in danger of abuse or neglect, the agency will initiate a court action. To protect the child, the court can issue temporary orders placing the child in shelter care during the investigation, ordering services, or ordering certain individuals to have no contact with the child.
(short for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) A very strong stress reaction that can develop after a traumatic event. Abuse, witnessing or experiencing any type of personal or environmental disaster, or being threatened with an assault can lead to PTSD. Symptoms may include: strong emotions, jitters, and trouble sleeping, eating, or concentrating. A person with PTSD might experience frequent thoughts and images of what happened, nightmares, or fears. The right care and support can reduce or eliminate these symptoms and allow a person to move on.
A person who is believed to be the father of a child, or who claims to be the father of a child, at a time when there may not be enough evidence or information available to determine if it is true.
A condition that generally appears in children before age five, and is thought to result from a lack of consistent care and nurturing in early years. The disorder is characterized by the inability of a child or infant to establish age-appropriate social contact and relationships with others.
When a birth parent voluntarily gives up his or her parental rights, often so that someone else can adopt the child.
A structured care facility with highly trained staff that provide services to young people to overcome behavioral, emotional, mental, or psychological problems that have had harmful impacts on family life, school achievement, and peer relationships.
A group of young people who have experienced foster care. The group generally works on issues to improve the system, raise public awareness, or to provide peer support to other foster youth. Sometimes called a Youth Advisory Council.
A child or youth who has a guardian appointed by the court to care for and take responsibility for them. A governmental agency may take temporary custody of a young person if the child is suffering from parental neglect or abuse, or has been in trouble with the law.
When a parent or guardian makes a decision on their own to place a child in foster care.
A program provide by some states that allows current and former foster youth to attend publicly funded colleges and higher education institutions without paying (or with a substantial reduction of) tuition and fees.
A service, usually including housing, provided to young people who are in the process of aging out of foster care or have recently emancipated from the system.
A structured plan for services and supports for a young person who will emancipate (or “age out”) of the foster care system to life on their own. The goal is to assure a young person’s safety and health as they adjust to supporting themselves as a young adult.
When a young person leaves foster care, whether through reunification, adoption, or emancipation. See also Emancipation and Aging Out.
(short for Termination of Parental Rights) If family reunification has been ruled out and adoption is a possibility for the child, the agency may petition (request) for termination of parents’ rights to the child. If the court terminates parental rights it means the child is legally free for adoption. It also means that your biological parents have no legal rights pertaining to the child anymore.
A person who provides supportive services such as counseling, goal planning and advocacy for youth and families. A therapist has received specialized training and may be a Social Worker, Psychologist or Psychiatrist.