In this Act unless the context otherwise requires:

"approved residential home" means a residential home for children which is run by Government or a non-governmental home licensed by the Minister where children are given temporary substitute family care;

"child abuse" means contravention of the rights of the child which causes physical or mental harm to the child;

"craftsman" means a person who can train and instruct an apprentice in a trade;

"day-care center" means any early childhood development establishment where children below compulsory school going age are received and looked after for the day or a substantial part of the day with or without a fee;

"Department" means the Social Welfare and Community Development Department of a District Assembly;

"disabled child" means a child who suffers from abnormalities or loss of physiological functions, anatomic structure or psychological state and has lost in part or wholly the ability to engage in activities in a normal way and is as a result hampered in his normal functions in certain areas of social life;

"district" means the area of authority of a District Assembly and includes a municipality and metropolis;

"District Assembly" includes Municipal and Metropolitan Assembly;

"District Chief Executive" includes Municipal and Metropolitan Chief Executives;

"fit person" means a person of full age who is of high moral character and integrity and of sound mind capable of looking after a child, is not a relative of the child and has been registered by a probation officer or social welfare officer as being able to provide a caring home for a child;

"home" means a residential place where a child is given temporary substitute family care;

"informal sector" means the area of economy other than industry;

"institution" means an approved residential home;

"inter-country adoption" means the adoption of a child by a person who is not a citizen of Ghana who resides outside Ghana and the removal of the adopted child from the jurisdiction; " minor criminal matter" means a minor offence such as petty theft, petty assault and threatening offences;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Social Welfare;

"next friend" means a person who intervenes to assist a child to bring a legal action;

"NGO" means a non-governmental organisation;

"parent" means natural parent and includes a person acting in whatever way as parent;

"young person" means a person of or above eighteen years who is under twenty-one.