Vol. 1, No. 1 • Spring 1997
Foster Care: A Glossary of Terms
by Jenifer MontsingerWhen you take on a job in a new place, one of the most difficult tasks is learning the jargon. Sometimes it feels as if those around you are speaking a foreign language, and they assume you are fluent!
In reality, every organization has its own special language, and we would all be more successful at helping our new members learn the language more quickly if we simply gave them a "cheat sheet". This sheet would list all the commonly used terms, acronyms, and abbreviations and explain in simple English what each one means. Of course, in the human services field, our list would need to be updated regularly because, as we all know, things are always changing.
The following is an initial effort to provide you with such a cheat sheet. The terms listed are commonly used throughout North Carolina. Since each child-placing agency has its own internal terms as well, I would encourage the development of such a list within each agency.
We plan to add to this initial list in each issue. As you stumble across new and interesting jargon, please send it to us. If you know what it means, wonderful--tell us! If you don't, we'll try to find out and publish it in the next issue.
WFFA: Work First Family Assistance, the new North Carolina welfare program. Includes Financial Assistance, food stamps, Medicaid, and Employment Services.
WIC: the Women, Infants, and Children Program, a nutrition-supplement program for infants and toddlers identified as high-risk. Caretakers of certified children receive monthly vouchers for the purchase of specific foodstuffs.
- TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the new federal financial assistance program. Replaces AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children).
IV-E, non-IV-E, IV-B: Eligibility categories which determine funding sources for children in foster care. The Roman numerals and letters refer to specific provisions of the Social Security Act.
PACT: Parents and Children Together, a health department program that tracks and provides/arranges for a variety of developmental services for infants and toddlers identified as high-risk.
GAL: a Guardian ad Litem is a volunteer appointed by the court to represent the best interest of the child in cases of abuse and neglect. This North Carolina program is coordinated by the Administrative Office of the Courts in Raleigh.
Permanency Planning: a set of services, individually designed for each child, which have the goal of achieving a "forever" home for the child in the shortest possible time. The plan could be return to birth parents (known as "reunification"), placement with relatives, adoption, or Independent Living. Long-term or permanent foster care is not considered a permanent plan.
PPRT: a Permanency Planning Review Team is a group of people from different agencies and the community at large that reviews the progress toward achieving the Permanent Plan of each child in placement. Also know as Agency Foster Care Review Team Meetings.
Jenifer Montsinger is a Social Work Supervisor for Orange County Department of Social Services.
Copyright � 2000 Jordan Institute for Families