Section 4Sec./Art. 4

Definition of Terms. As used in this Act:

(a) Abandoned child refers to a child who has no proper parental care or guardianship, a foundling, or on who has been deserted by ones parents for a period of at least three (3) continuous months, and has been declared as such by the NACC;

(b) Abandoned Filipino child in foreign country refers to an unregistered or undocumented child found outside the Philippine territory, with known or unknown facts of birth, separated from or deserted by the biological Filipino parent guardian, or custodian for a period of at least three (3) continuous months and committed to a foreign orphanage or charitable institution or in a temporary informal care, and has been declared as such by the NACC, upon recommendation of the Office of the Social Welfare Attach (OSWA) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), or the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA);

(c) Actual custodian refers to the guardian or spouses who raised a child or person and consistently treated the child as their own;

(d) Adoption refers to the socio-legal process of providing a permanent family to a child whose parents had voluntarily or involuntarily given up their parental rights, permanently transferring all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, making the child a legitimate child of the adoptive parents: Provided, That adult adoption shall be covered by the benefits of this Act;

In the interest of clarity, adoption shall cease to be part of alternative child care and becomes parental care as soon as the process is completed.

(e) Adoption para-social worker refers to an unregistered and unlicensed social work practitioner who ideally has three (3) years of experience in handling alternative child care or adoption cases, or both;

(f) Adoption social worker refers to an individual who is registered and licensed by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), in accordance with Republic Act No. 9433, otherwise known as the Magna Carta for Public Social Workers and who ideally has three (3) years of experience in handling alternative child care or adoption cases, or both. For purposes of this Act, in the event that an adoption social worker is not available, adoption para-social worker shall be allowed to render the services required: Provided, That only duly registered and licensed social workers shall sign and submit the pertinent documents;

(g) Alternative child care refers to the provision of planned substitute parental care to a child who is orphaned, abandoned, neglected, or surrendered, by a child-caring or child-placing agency. This may include foster care, kinship care, family-like care, and residential care;

(h) Child refers to a person below eighteen (18) years of age or a person eighteen (18) years of age or over but who is unable to fully take care or protect himself or herself from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation, or discrimination because of physical or psychosocial disability or condition: Provided, That for the purpose of this Act, where relevant, a child shall also refer to an adult son, daughter, or offspring;

(i) Child Legally Available for Adoption (CLAA) refers to a child in whose favor a certification was issued by the NACC that such child is legally available for adoption after the fact of abandonment or neglect has been proven through the submission of pertinent documents, or one who was voluntarily committed by the childs parents or legal guardians;

(j) Certificate Declaring a Child Legally Available for Adoption (CDCLAA) refers to the final written administrative order issued by the NACC declaring a child to be abandoned and neglected, and committing such child to the care of the NACC through a foster parent, guardian, or duly licensed child-caring or child-placing agency. The rights of the biological parents, guardian, or other custodian to exercise authority over the child shall cease upon issuance of the CDCLAA;

(k) Child-caring agency refers to a duly licensed and accredited agency by the DSWD that provides twenty-four (24)-hour residential care services for abandoned, orphaned, neglected, or voluntarily and involuntarily committed children;

(l) Child case study report refers to a written report prepared by an adoption social worker containing all the necessary information about a child, including the childs legal status, placement history, past and present biopsychosocial and spiritual aspects, case background, ethno-cultural background, and biological family background or history;

(m) Child-placing agency refers to a private nonprofit or charitable or government agency duly licensed and accredited agency by the DSWD to provide comprehensive child welfare services including receiving and processing of petitions, for adoption and foster care, evaluating the prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) or foster parents, preparing the child case study report and home study report;

(n) Child Placement Committee (CPC) refers to the committee under the supervision of the Deputy Director for Services composed of a child psychiatrist or psychologist, a medical doctor, a lawyer, an adoption social worker, a representative of nongovernmental organization (NGO) engaged in child welfare, and any other professional as may be needed, to provide the necessary assistance in reviewing petitions for adoption;

(o) Deed of Voluntary Commitment (DVC) refers to the notarized instrument relinquishing parental authority and committing the child to the care and custody of the NACC or child-placing or child-caring agency, executed by the childs biological parents or by the childs legal guardian in their absence, mental incapacity or death, to be signed in the presence of an authorized representative of the NACC, after counseling and other services have been made available to encourage the childs biological parents or legal guardian to keep the child;

(p) Domestic adoption refers to an administrative adoption proceeding where the Order of Adoption is issued within the Philippines and is undertaken between a Filipino child and eligible adoptive parents;

(q) Foreign national refers to any person who is not a Filipino citizen;

(r) Foster care refers to the provision of planned temporary substitute parental care to a child by a foster parent;

(s) Foster child refers to a child placed under foster care;

(t) Foster parent refers to a person, duly licensed by the NACC, to provide foster care;

(u) Foundling refers to a deserted or abandoned child of unknown parentage and whose date or circumstances of birth on Philippine territory are unknown and undocumented. This shall also include those with the above circumstance of birth during their infancy and/or childhood, and have reached the age of majority without benefiting from adoption procedures;

(v) Home study report refers to a written report prepared by an adoption social worker relative to the motivation and capacity of the prospective adoptive or foster parents to provide a home that meets the needs of a child;

(w) Inter-country adoption refers to the socio-legal process of adopting a child by a foreign national or a Filipino citizen habitually a resident outside Philippine territory which complies with the principles stated in the Hague Convention of 1993;

(x) Involuntarily committed child refers to one who has been permanently deprived of parental authority due to: abandonment; substantial, continuous, or repeated neglect; abuse or incompetence to discharge parental responsibilities, of known or unknown parents;

(y) Local Social Welfare Development Officer (LSWDO) refers to a person who is a duly licensed social worker and appointed by the local chief executive to head the provincial, city, or municipal social welfare development office which serves as the frontline of the local government unit (LGU) in the delivery of social welfare and development programs and services;

(z) Matching refers to the judicious selection from the regional or interregional levels of a family for a child based on the childs needs and best interest as well as the capability and commitment of the adoptive parents to provide such needs and promote a mutually satisfying parent-child relationship;

(aa) Neglected child refers to a child whose physical and emotional needs have been deliberately unattended or inadequately attended within a period of three (3) continuous months. A child is unattended when left without the proper provisions or proper supervision;

(bb) Petition refers to the duly accomplished application from for the foster case or adoption, including the social case study report and its supporting documents from an authorized or accredited agency or central authority;

(cc) Placement refers to the physical entrustment of the child with the foster parent or to the adoptive parents;

(dd) Post-adoption services refer to psychosocial services and support services provided by adoption social workers after the issuance of the Order of Adoption by the NACC or Final Decree of Adoption or its equivalent;

(ee) Pre-Adoption Placement Authority (PAPA) refers to the matching committee organized by the NACC, through the RACCO, that is tasked to deliberate the regional and interregional matching of children legally available for adoption and approved prospective adoptive parents;

(hh) Relative refers to someone other than family members, within fourth (4th) degree of consanguinity or affinity;

(ii) Simulation of birth record refers to the tampering of the civil registry to make it appear in the record of birth that a child was born to a person who is not such childs biological mother, causing the loss of the true identity and status of such child;

(jj) Social case study report refers to the report prepared by the adoption social worker on the PAPs capacity to raise the child; the social agency efforts to locate the childs biological parents or relatives; interventions given to the child and the family; and the adoption social workers assessment of the case. It shall include both the child case study report and the home study report;

(kk) Social worker refers to a licensed practitioner by the PRC who, by academic training and social work professional experience, possesses the skill to achieve the objectives as defined and set by the social work profession, through the use of the basic methods and technique of social work (case work, group work, and community organization) which are designed to enable individuals, groups and communities to meet their needs and to solve the problems of adjustment to a hanging pattern of society and, through coordination with an organized social work agency which is supported partially or wholly from government or community solicited funds;

(ll) Step-parent refers to a parent who is married to the mother or father of a child, but who is not that childs biological mother or father;

(mm) Supervised trial custody (STC) refers to the period of time after the placement of a child in an adoptive home whereby an adoption social worker helps the adoptive family and the child in the adjustment process to facilitate the legal union through adoption;

(nn) Support refers to everything indispensable for the full and harmonious development of the child, including sustenance, dwelling, clothing, medical attention, and education, in keeping with the financial capacity of the family; and

(oo) Voluntarily committed child refers to the one whose parent or legal guardian knowingly and willingly relinquished parental authority to the NACC, the DSWD, or any duly accredited child-placing or child-caring agency or institution.

ARTICLE II

NATIONAL AUTHORITY FOR CHILD CARE