9:3-38 Definitions.
2.For the purposes of P.L.1977, c.367 (C.9:3-37 et seq.):
a."Approved agency" means a nonprofit corporation, association, or agency, including any public agency, approved by the Department of Children and Families for the purpose of placing children for adoption in New Jersey;
b."Child" means a person under 18 years of age;
c."Custody" means the general right to exercise continuing control over the person of a child derived from court order or otherwise;
d."Guardianship" means the right to exercise continuing control over the person or property or both of a child which includes any specific right of control over an aspect of the child's upbringing derived from court order;
e."Guardian ad litem" means a qualified person, not necessarily an attorney, appointed by the court under the provisions of this act or at the discretion of the court to represent the interests of the child whether or not the child is a named party in the action;
f."Parent" means a birth parent or parents, including the birth father of a child born out of wedlock who has acknowledged the child or to whom the court has ordered notice to be given, or a parent or parents by adoption;
g."Placement for adoption" means the transfer of custody of a child to a person for the purpose of adoption by that person;
h."Plaintiff" means a prospective parent or parents who have filed a complaint for adoption;
i."Legal services" means the provision of counseling or advice related to the law and procedure for adoption of a child, preparation of legal documents, or representation of any person before a court or administrative agency;
j."Surrender" means a voluntary relinquishment of all parental rights by a birth parent, previous adoptive parent, or other person or agency authorized to exercise these rights by law, court order or otherwise, for purposes of allowing a child to be adopted;
k."Home study" means an approved agency's formal assessment of the capacity and readiness of prospective adoptive parents to adopt a child, including the agency's written report and recommendations conducted in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the Director of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency; and
l."Intermediary" means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, or agency, which is not an approved agency as defined in this section, who acts for or between any parent and any prospective parent or acts on behalf of either in connection with the placement of the parent's child for adoption in the State or in any other state or country. An intermediary in any other state or country shall not receive money or other valuable consideration in connection with the placement of a child for adoption in this State. An intermediary in this State shall not receive money or other valuable consideration in connection with the placement of a child for adoption in this State or in any other state or country. The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to prohibit the receipt of money or other valuable consideration specifically authorized in section 18 of P.L.1993, c.345 (C.9:3-39.1).
L.1977, c.367, s.2; amended 1993, c.345, s.1; 1999, c.53, s.2; 2006, c.47, s.33; 2012, c.16, s.14.
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Last modified: October 11, 2016