“Adoptee” means an individual who is adopted or is to be adopted;

“Adult” means an individual who has attained eighteen (18) years of age;

“Minor” means any person who has not attained the age of eighteen (18) years;

“Child-placing agency” means any child welfare agency licensed pursuant to the Oklahoma Child Care Facilities Licensing Act and authorized to place minors for adoption;

“Contested proceeding” means any proceeding pursuant to the Oklahoma Adoption Code in which an interested party enters an appearance to contest the petition;

“Department” means the Department of Human Services;

“Direct placement adoption” means any adoption in which the minor is not placed for adoption by the Department of Human Services or a child-placing agency;

“Guardian” means an individual, other than a parent, appointed by a court to be the guardian of the person of a minor;

“Parent” means an individual who is the biological or adoptive parent of a child or who is legally recognized as a mother or father of a child. The term “parent” does not include an individual whose parental relationship to a child has been terminated;

“Permanent relinquishment” means the voluntary surrender of the rights of the parent or guardian with respect to a minor, including legal and physical custody of the minor, to a child-placing agency, Department of Human Services or any person with the assent of the court, by a minor’s parent or guardian, for purposes of the minor’s adoption;

“Putative father” means the father of a minor born out of wedlock or a minor whose mother was married to another person at the time of the birth of the minor or within the ten (10) months prior to the birth of the minor and includes, but is not limited to, a man who has acknowledged or claims paternity of a minor, a man named by the mother of the minor to be the father of the minor, or any man who is alleged to have engaged in sexual intercourse with a woman during a possible time of conception;

“State” means any state, territory, or possession of the United States, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia; and

“Stepparent” means an individual who is the spouse or surviving spouse of a parent of a minor, but who is not a legal parent of the minor.