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| Adoption Advocacy Counseling Early Childhood Development Family Support & Parent Education Fostering School Success Out-of-Home Care  Catalyst
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Glossary of Terms Adoption Support: Program that provides medical, counseling and financial support to families who adopt children with special needs from state-supported placements. CAMIS: Children's Administration Case and Management Information System; tracks all CPS referrals and children who are placed in out-of-home care. CIP: Court Improvement Project Compelling reasons: Justification of why filing for termination of parental rights within the federal timelines established in the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 is not in the best interests of the child. Concurrent Planning: Social work and legal practice providing reunification services while simultaneously developing an alternative case plan should the child not be able to return home. CPS: Child Protective Services CWS: Child Welfare Services DASA: Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse DCFS: Division of Children and Family Services DDD: Division of Developmental Disabilities DLR: Division of Licensed Resources; contains the Office of Foster Care Licensing DSHS: Department of Social and Health Services Episode: Duration of a child's stay in out-of-home care; may include more than one "placement" in foster homes or other settings. FGC: Family Group Conference - a decision-making model involving the extended family in the resolution of a child welfare case. FFKP: Families for Kids Partnership is an outgrowth of the Families for Kids project 1994-98. The purpose is to direct and oversee the implementation of the Washington Permanency Framework and expand community involvement. Finalization: The process of legalizing an adoptive relationship through the court system. FPAWS: Foster Parents Association of Washington State FRS: Family Reconciliation Services GAL/CASA: Guardian Ad Litem/Court-Appointed Special Advocate; volunteers trained to interview children and families involved with the child welfare system and to represent the child's best interests in the court. Guardianship: Legal proceeding appointing a caretaker as legal custodian of a dependent child. More specifically referred to as "dependency guardianship." ICWA: Indian Child Welfare Act; federal law enacted in 1978 that establishes specific guidelines for working with Native American children and families in the child welfare system. Kin: Biological family; used interchangeably with "relative." At times, kin is used more broadly to include other persons with a close relationship to the family. Legally free: Child whose parents' rights have been terminated; the state acts as the child's sole guardian until an adoption is finalized or another permanent plan is established. OFCL: Office of Foster Care Licensing Permanency or permanency planning: Legal and social work practices for children in out-of-home care with the goal of achieving a permanent family for the child through family reunification or an alternative such as adoption, guardianship or permanent relative placement. Permanent family: Family that is a permanent resource to a child past his or her 18th birthday; this may mean a return to the birth parent(s) or an alternative family such as a relative, adoptive family or guardian. Placement: Duration of a child's stay in one setting, which may be a foster, relative or group home, or another setting such as an institution. More than one placement may occur during an "episode." Reasonable Efforts: Actions required by the social worker to prevent placement or reunify the family once placement has occurred; not required only when specific "aggravated circumstances" exist as defined by law. TPR: Termination of parental rights; see "legally free." WARE: Washington Adoption Resource Exchange
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