I have seen several different posts on several different groups lately. Some want to know what the “politically correct” terminology for certain aspects of adoption are, and others have had someone say something very offensive to them.

Here are some very common ones:

Johnny was placed for adoption. Not given up or given away. Another way to word this would be Johnny’s birthmother made an adoption plan.

I have three children. Not I have two real children (or children of my own, birth children, biological children) and one adopted child.

Suzy... more

When you’re reading a child’s profile, their case history or a discussion on a forum, it can seem like Greek, or alphabet soup. Some of the acronyms are very easy and don’t require much explanation. Others you will want to thoroughly research.

Here’s an example:

My FD was just diagnosed with RAD and PTSD. We want to take her to an AT, but can’t find one near us. The TPR has not been done yet, so we’re not sure if we can do it.

AA... more

Back on to readers questions. One of the questions was “What should we NEVER forget to ask to our worker before we accept a placement?”

There is a simple, but long, answer to this question.

Buy the book “The Adoption.com Guide to Adopting from Foster Care”. It’s a great book! I should know, I wrote it.

Seriously, I would buy the book just for the checklists and questions alone. It is a downloadable... more

This is the final post in a series of foster and foster-adopt acronyms.

If you aren't familiar with these, it'll make your head spin the first time you read a report or sit in a family services plan meeting. (FSP)

Do you need to know all of these? Probably not, but I've come around most of these acronyms in the last five years, and I know some of them intimately!

Soon you'll be speaking in alphabet soup as well!

MAF: Medical Assistance to Families

MAS:... more

You don't have to memorize all these. After a while you can almost guess what they stand for.

Maybe someday in my sparetime I'll make up new ones - we could have a contest!....

In the meantime.. In case you were wondering:

D&A: Drug and Alcohol

DA: District Attorney

DCS: Division of Child Support

DD: Developmentally Disordered

DHHS: Department of Health... more

Navigating the system when you're new is a bit stressful. If you don't know the language, it can really be like stepping into a parallel universe.

These definitions will help you get around when you don't understand a word the caseworker, (CW) is saying:

CACG: Child Abuse Challenge Grant

CAD: Cost Allocation Plan

CAN: Child Abuse and Neglect

CAF: Children, Adults and Families. The program area at... more

In my last post I made up this conversation:

BM is coming after the UA for a visit and then we’ll schedule the FSP. Little Jimmy has been diagnosed with ODD and I”m afraid BM has PTSD. Let’s get the CPA to handle the FCR and then call in the GAL.

After reading, one commenter said her head hurt!

Here it comes, the definitions of the alphabet soup DHS uses. (Opps - DHS = Department... more

When Hubby and I took our first CORE training classes, the teacher spoke in initials.

DHS ADD FAS TPR

What? Wait, slow down. At the end of the evening I went home and cried.

Years later I understand now that I wasn’t alone. Most new prospective foster parents seem overwhelmed by the terminology, expectations, and needs of the children.

In the last class we took, I could feel other parents sinking into despair as their hopes and dreams about fostering children took on a new meaning:

... more