S.L. 582.1 Art. 3Interpretation. Cap. 495. Cap. 495. Cap. 16. Cap. 495. Cap. 495. Cap. 495. Cap. 495. Cap. 495. Cap.495. Cap. 495. Cap. 495. Cap. 16. Cap. 495. Cap. 495. Cap. 495. Cap. 16. Cap. 495. Cap. 468.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

''Accredited Agency'' as defined within the Adoption Administration Act means an organisation which is accredited by the Central Authority, in accordance with The 1993 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption, to carry out local and/or intercountry adoption;

''Adoptees'' means a person or persons who were adopted before they reached the age of eighteen (18);

''Adoption'' as defined within the Adoption Administration Act means a local or an intercountry adoption made in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code, the provisions of the Adoption Administration Act and any regulations made thereunder;

''Adoption Board'' means the Board established by virtue of article 3 of the Adoption Administration Act;

''Adoptive parents'' means a person or persons who adopted children;

''Adult adoptees'' means a person or persons who were adopted before they reached the age of eighteen (18) and who are now older than eighteen (18) years of age;

''Applicants'' means a person or persons who apply with an Accredited Agency to adopt children, but who have not yet been approved as eligible and suitable prospective adoptive parents by the Adoption Board;

''Birth family'' means the natural family;

''Birth parents'' means the natural mother and/or father; ''Board of Appeal'' means the Board established by virtue of article 16 of the Adoption Administration Act or an administrative board or other tribunal, which may be appointed provisionally by the respective Minister to carry out all, or part of the functions specified in the Adoption Administration Act;

''Central Authority'' means the Authority established by virtue of article 7 of the Adoption Administration Act;

''Children'' as defined in the Adoption Administration

Act, means a person or persons under eighteen (18) years of age, as stipulated within the standards, who are being considered for adoption, are being adopted or have been adopted;

''Children’s opinion'' means a child or children’s expressed thoughts and feelings that are sought after taking into consideration the child’s age and level of understanding;

''Country of Origin'' in respect of intercountry adoption, means the country from where a child is adopted;

''Court'' as defined by the Adoption Administration Act means the Civil Court (Voluntary Jurisdiction Section);

''Intercountry Adoption'' as defined by the Adoption

Administration Act means an adoption effected in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code relating to adoption, the provisions of the Adoption Administration Act and the law of a foreign country:

(a) in accordance with the 1993 Hague Convention or any other International Treaty to which Malta is a State party; or

(b) in Malta, in respect of a child not habitually resident in Malta, or in favour of any person not habitually resident in Malta;

''Local Adoption'' means an adoption that involves adoptive parents and children that at the time of adoption are habitually resident in Malta;

''Management'' means a person or persons who act on behalf of the Accredited Agency to provide leadership to staff and to oversee and control the proper functioning of the services offered;

''Open Adoption'' as defined in the Adoption

Administration Act means an adoption made in accordance with article 22 of the Adoption Administration Act and article 119 of the Civil Code, whereby children maintain contact with their birth parents and/or birth family;

''Performance Indicator'' means an active descriptor of what the Accredited Agency needs to do to ensure service outputs that support the quality indicators;

''Prospective Adoptive Parents'' means a person or persons that have been approved by the Adoption Board as eligible and suitable to adopt children;

''Quality Indicator'' means a statement that sets out the requirements to achieve compliance with a standard;

''Search of origin'' means the search carried out following a request by the adopted persons to the Accredited Agency, for information regarding the adopted persons’ origin and their birth family;

''Social Worker'' in accordance with the Adoption Administration Act shall have the meaning assigned to it by article 2 of the Social Work Profession Act;

''Staff'' means a person or persons engaged by the Accredited Agency wherein one of the person’s responsibilities is to deliver services or provide support for the delivery of services in the field of adoption of children, irrespective of whether or how the person is compensated;

''Transition'' means the process through which the children start living with the prospective adoptive parents. SCHEDULE (Regulation 2)

Standard 1: Children’s Rights and Involvement

Standard Statement:

This standard promotes the upholding of children’s rights by involving and supporting children throughout pre-adoption proceedings as well as post adoption.

Quality Indicators: