|
Home > Glossary - M
Glossary - M
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.
management
Directing people to accomplish desired goals. In business and human resources, management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling an organization—a group of one or more people or entities. Management can also refer to a person or people who perform management activities.
mandated reporter
Individuals required by State statutes to report suspected child abuse and neglect to the proper authorities (usually child protective services or law enforcement agencies). Mandated reporters typically include educators and other school personnel, health-care and mental health professionals, social workers, child care providers, and law enforcement officers or others who have frequent contact with children and families. Some States identify all citizens as mandated reporters.
matching
The process of finding prospective families specifically suited to meet the needs of children awaiting placement. The term is used in both foster care and adoption.
maternity home
A residence for pregnant women, usually those planning to place their child for adoption or contemplating adoption, that provides supportive maternity and birth services. The women who live in a maternity home may pay a small fee or no fee to live in the home, and they often apply for public assistance and Medicaid payments.
mediation
The practice of involving trained, neutral, third-party mediators in child welfare cases as a means of resolving disputes and expediting permanency for children in foster care. This process may involve birth parents, kin, and foster or adoptive parents in planning by engaging them in an inclusive, confidential, and nonjudgmental process in which their wishes are considered and respected.
medical neglect
Failure to seek medical or dental treatment or to comply with medical advice for a health problem or condition that, if left untreated, could become severe enough to represent a danger to the child.
mental retardation
Significantly below average intellectual functioning and potential, with onset before age 18, resulting in limitations in communication, self-care, self-direction, social and interpersonal skills, work, leisure, health, and safety. Retardation is the result of genetic, pregnancy, or prenatal problems or family or environmental factors such as social deprivation.
MEPA (see Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994)
meta-analysis
A statistical technique that summarizes the results of several studies into a single estimate.
methamphetamine
A group of substances, most of them synthetic, that have a stimulating effect on the central nervous system and are highly psychologically addictive. Methamphetamine can be injected, snorted, smoked, or ingested orally. The popular term "crystal meth" usually refers to the smokable form of methamphetamine. Other amphetamine-type stimulants include anoretics (appetite suppressants) and nonhallucinogenic drugs such as "ecstasy."
methodology
The analysis of the principles of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline; the systematic study of methods that are, can be, or have been applied within a discipline; or a procedure or set of procedures.
model court
In general, a court that seeks to improve outcomes for children and families involved in the child welfare system by adhering to the practices and procedures described in Resource Guidelines: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases (National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges—NCJFCJ). More specifically, it refers to one of the Model Court sites supported by NCJFCJ's Child Victim's Act Model Courts Project.
multicultural, multiculturalism
Generally refers to an applied ideology of racial, cultural, and ethnic diversity within the demographics of a specific place or organization such as a school, business, neighborhood, city, or nation.
multidisciplinary team
A group of professionals and possibly paraprofessionals representing a variety of disciplines who interact and coordinate their efforts to diagnose, treat, and plan for children involved in the child welfare system. They may also be referred to as a "child protection team," "interdisciplinary team," or "case consultation team."
Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 (MEPA) (see Major Federal Legislation Concerned With Child Protection, Child Welfare, and Adoption)
|
RSS
