Vocabulary Lesson

Thought I would share some words you will hear when fostering.  Most of the legal parties involved in the case will use acronyms for some things.  When we first began fostering, I was totally lost.  Hopefully, this will help you out a little. *Remember, we live in Texas.  Regulations may be different from state to state*

Best Interest- You'll hear this term so often you'll want to throw up! The "best interest" of the child is supposed to always be the primary consideration of the court in determining the issues of conservatorship, possession and access to the child.  'Supposed' to is the key word here, folks.

CASA- Court Appointed Special Advocate, CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to watch over and advocate for abused and neglected children, to make sure they don’t get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system or languish in inappropriate group or foster homes. Volunteers stay with each case until it is closed and the child is placed in a safe, permanent home.  CASA is required to visits the child in their foster home at least once a month.
Case Plan: The document that outlines the outcomes, goals, and tasks necessary to be achieved in order to reduce the risk of maltreatment
CPA-Child Placing Agency, an agency which places children, ages birth through 18 years old, in foster homes
Concurrent Planning: Identifies alternative plans for permanent placement of a child by addressing both reunification and legal permanency with a new parent or caregiver if reunification efforts fail.
CPS- Child Protective Services, often referred to as simply "the department".  Most of the words I use to refer to CPS are not appropriate. 
GAL- Guardian Ad Litem, an individual appointed by the court to represent the best interests of a child or incapacitated person involved in a case in superior court (basically, your foster child's lawyer)  Here in Texas, the Guardian Ad Litem is required to 'lay eyes' on the child at least once before a permanency hearing.  If the child is an infant, they must only make contact with the foster parent.  This is a bull crap.  Be prepared for your foster child's lawyer to know very little about them.  The meme below: true story....more than once 

Fictive Kin- close family friends who have had substantial contact with the child
Family Group Conference- A family group conference is a process led by family members to plan and make decisions for a child who is at risk. It is a voluntary process and families cannot be forced to have a family group conference.  Parents, sometimes the child, the parent's lawyer, CASA, the CPS caseworker and the foster parents may attend.  
Kinship Care- Kinship care refers to the care of children by relatives.  Relatives are the preferred placement for children who must be removed from their birth parents.  We have had foster children for 6 months and then had great aunt Sally, who the child has never met, come out of the wood works and want the child placed with her.  The requirements for a kinship care placement are far more lenient than they are for non-relative foster care. 
Permanent Managing Conservatorship- referred to as PMC- Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) is a legal term in Texas used in child custody cases. It means that a judge appoints a person to be legally responsible for a child without adopting the child. The court can give PMC to someone other than a parent, including DFPS, a relative, a close family friend, or a foster parent. PMC can only be given by a judge. The judge decides the rights and responsibilities, depending upon the specific situation. When someone other than a parent is named as "permanent managing conservator," he or she is given certain rights and duties about caring for the child such as:

1. The right to have physical possession and to direct the moral and religious training of the child.
2. The duty of care, control, protection, and reasonable discipline of the child.
3. The duty to provide the child with clothing, food, shelter, education, and medical, psychological, and dental care.
4. The right to consent for the child to medical, psychiatric, psychological, dental, and surgical treatment and to have access to the child’s medical records.
5. The right to receive and give receipt for payments for the support of the child and to hold or disburse funds for the benefit of the child.
6. The right to the services and earnings of the child.
7. The right to consent to marriage and to enlistment in the armed forces of the United States.
8. The right to represent the child in legal action and to make other decisions of substantial legal significance concerning the child.
9. Except when a guardian of the child’s estate or a guardian or attorney ad litem has been appointed for the child, the right to act as an agent of the child in relation to the child’s estate if the child’s action is required by a state, the United States, or a foreign government.
10. The right to designate the primary residence of the child and to make decisions regarding the child’s education.
11. The right to consent to adopting the child and to make all decisions about the child that a parent could make, if the parent-child relationship has been terminated or if there is no living parent

Possessory Conservator-the possessory conservator only has the right to "access to" (or "visitation" with) the child under a defined schedule
Presumed Father- here's a good one, get ready! The 'presumed' father has the legal status and rights of a parent.  A man is presumed to be the father of a child if:
-he is married to the mother of the child and the child is born during the marriage
-He is married to the mother of the child and the child is born before the 301st day after the date the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity or divorce
-he married the mother of the child before the birth of the child in apparent compliance with law, even if the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and the child is born during the invalid marriage or before the 301st day after the date the marriage is terminated.
- he married the mother of the child after the birth of the child in compliance with the law, regardless of whether the marriage is or could be declared invalid, he voluntary asserted his paternity of the child, and
                 1.) the assertion is in a record filed with the bureau of vital statistics
                 2.) his is voluntarily named as the child's father on the child's birth certificate or
                 3.) he promised in a record to support the child as his own

Residential Service Plan (RSP)- A plan describing past behavior problems, with goals and reinforcement information to eliminate the unwanted behavior. Respite Care- Respite is temporary, short-term care provided to individuals with disabilities. Services can be delivered in the individual's home for a few hours or in an alternate licensed setting for an extended period of time. Respite care allows caregivers to take a break in order to relieve and prevent stress and fatigue.
Reunification- This is the goal of every CPS case when they first begin.  The goal is to reunite the child with their parent.
SAPCR- Suit Affecting Parent Child Relationship
Service Plan-This is basically the list of things the parent has to do in order to get their children back
Staffing- a meeting in which all legal parties (CPS caseworker, lawyers for child and parent, CASA caseworker, CPS department attorney and sometimes the CPA) to a CPS case attend to discuss the case
Transporter- This is the person who may transport foster child to and from parent visits and if/when they return home.  However, in our experience, the foster parent has the option of transporting their foster child to and from parent visits, which we always did.
Termination- when a parent's rights are terminated, meaning they no longer have custody of their child.  However, during the duration of a CPS case, the "plan" may change from reunification to termination.  This is just a barometer for how well or not so well, the parent is doing regarding working to get their child back. We have had many cases change from reunification to termination, only to be changed back to reunification