Glossary - L

Many child welfare terms are subject to interpretation. The Glossary identifies commonly held definitions for terms that can be found on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website. It defines common acronyms and includes links to information on major Federal legislation and related child welfare terms. The Glossary will be updated as new terminology emerges in the field, as new legislation is enacted, and as child welfare terms take on new meaning.

LD (see learning disability)

learning disability (LD)
A "disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematical calculations," from Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (P.L. 101-476) and the Education of the Handicapped Act. For more information, see Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

legal counsel
Another term for a lawyer or attorney. A legal counsel advises clients about their legal rights and obligations and represents clients in legal proceedings.

legal custody (see custody)

legal guardian
An adult to whom the court has given parental responsibility and authority for a child. Appointment as guardian requires the filing of a petition and approval by the court and can be done without terminating the parental rights of the child's parents.

legal risk placement
Placement of a child with an approved preadoptive foster family who intends to adopt the child if reunification is not possible and adoption becomes necessary for the child. In legal risk placements, the rights of all of the child's birth parents have not yet been voluntarily or involuntarily terminated.

legally free
The legal status of a child whose birth parents' rights have been legally terminated so that the child is free to be adopted by another family.

licensing, licensure for child placement
Regulations in each State that ensure children are cared for in physically and developmentally safe environments. In most States, licensing may not be required for kinship or relative care. Licensure may also refer to the social work professional. Licensing and certification in social work is to assist the public through identification of standards for the safe professional practice of social work. Each jurisdiction defines by law what is required for each level of social work licensure.

life book
Often used as a therapeutic tool to help a child in foster care understand his/her background and history, resolve feelings, and attach emotionally to a new family. The life book can be developed online or as a scrapbook with pictures of birth parents and relatives, drawings, and children's own narratives. Recommended for all children in out-of-home care, they can be created with the child by social workers, foster parents, and/or adoptive parents.

logic model
A logic model is a map or a simple illustration of what you do, why you do it, what you hope to achieve, and how you will measure achievement. It includes the anticipated outcomes of your services, indicators of those outcomes, and measurement tools to evaluate the outcomes.

long-term foster care
The placement of a child in foster care for an extended period of time. ASFA does not recognize long-term foster care as a permanency option and, increasingly, State child welfare systems no longer view long-term foster care as a placement alternative.

loss
The act or an instance of losing something or the condition of being deprived of what one once had or ought to have. Children and families involved with the child welfare system typically have suffered many losses.

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