Florida Administrative Code

(1) The child-placing agency shall have a personnel file for each employee, that shall be available on site for review by the Department, which shall include the following: (a) The application for employment; (b) Verification that the screening requirements of Section 409.175(6)(…

Rulemaking Authority 409.175 FS. Law Implemented 409.175 FS. History-New 12-19-90, Amended 10-27-93, Formerly 10M-24.027, Amended 11-14-16, 7-25-17, Repealed 3-1-23.

(1) The child-placing agency shall have a written plan for the orientation, ongoing training and development of all staff. (2) The child-placing agency shall ensure that the supervisory and social work staff receive at least 15 hours of in-service training during each full year o…

(1) Volunteers who work directly with children for periods of more than 10 hours in any given month must be screened in the same manner as the employees of the child-placing agency. A volunteer who assists on an intermittent basis for less than 10 hours per month need not be scre…

Rulemaking Authority 39, 63, 409.175 FS. Law Implemented 39, 63, 409.175 FS. History-New 12-19-90, Formerly 10M-24.031, Repealed 11-14-16.

(1) Placement Services: (a) The child-placing agency shall provide placement services to families and children in foster care in accordance with Rule 65C-28.004, F.A.C. (b) When making placement decisions, the child-placing agency shall consider the cultural, religious, and ethni…

Rulemaking Authority 409.175 FS. Law Implemented 409.175 FS. History-New 12-19-90, Formerly 10M-24.034, Repealed 11-14-16.

Rulemaking Authority 409.175 FS. Law Implemented 409.175 FS. History-New 12-19-90, Amended 10-27-93, Formerly 10M-24.036, Repealed 11-14-16.

Rulemaking Authority 409.175 FS. Law Implemented 409.175 FS. History-New 12-19-90, Amended 10-27-93, Formerly 10M-24.037, Repealed 11-14-16.

Rulemaking Authority 409.175 FS. Law Implemented 409.175 FS. History-New 12-19-90, Formerly 10M-24.038, Repealed 11-14-16.

The child-placing agency shall send the Department written notice of its recommendation to deny or revoke a family foster home license. The child-placing agency shall state the reasons it is recommending denial or revocation and shall provide the Department with documentation sup…

(1) The child-placing agency shall provide or identify training opportunities for licensed out-of-home caregivers in accordance with Rules 65C-13.024 and 65C-13.026, F.A.C. (2) The child-placing agency shall have a signed "Partnership Plan for Children in Licensed Out-of-Home Car…

(1) All child-placing agencies shall conduct adoption home studies in accordance with Rules 65C-16.002 and 65C-16.005, F.A.C.; however, private adoption agencies are exempt from the requirements of subsections 65C-16.005(4)-(5), F.A.C. (2) All private adoption agencies shall prov…

(1) The child-placing agency shall provide adoptive services in accordance with rule Chapter 65C-16, F.A.C. (2) If a child-placing agency pays, directly or indirectly, for a pregnant female to come to Florida for the purpose of placing the child, when born, for adoption with the …

Rulemaking Authority 409.175 FS. Law Implemented 409.175 FS. History-New 12-19-90, Formerly 10M-24.045, Repealed 11-14-16.

(1) The agency shall arrange storage for records of a child in foster care or residential group care until the child is 30 years' of age. Case records shall be permanently retained of children placed by the agency for adoption, their biological families and adoptive families. (2)…

A child-placing agency the provides services to children shall have on file a record of the child's family that includes: (1) Demographic information, including address, birth dates, race, religion, family composition, and persons important to the child; (2) The social history, i…

Rulemaking Authority 409.175 FS. Law Implemented 409.175 FS. History-New 12-19-90, Formerly 10M-24.048, Repealed 11-14-16.

The agency shall keep records for each adoptive family which shall contain: (1) All documentation required pursuant to Rule 65C-16.005, F.A.C. (2) The application for adoption; (3) The adoptive home study; (4) A copy of the information given to the parents concerning the child or…

If a child-placing agency ceases operation, for any reason, it shall notify the Department in writing at least 30 calendar days prior to closing and shall provide the following to the Department: (1) Legal transfer of surrender and releases of any children in its custody to anoth…

(1) The child-placing agency which engages in intercountry adoptions shall provide to the adoptive parents all legal documents pertaining to the adopted child that have been obtained from the child's country of origin. (2) Any child-placing agency which conducts intercountry adop…

All interstate adoptions shall comply with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, Section 409.401, F.S. Rulemaking Authority 409.401, 409.175 FS. Law Implemented 409.401, 409.175 FS. History-New 5-17-98, Amended 11-14-16.

Definitions in this Rule Chapter shall have the same meaning as defined in Section 39.01, F.S. Additionally, the following terms are defined: (1) "Abuse Hotline" means the Department's single statewide toll-free telephone number established for the purpose of receiving reports of…

(1) A person seeking to adopt a child who does not meet the definition of difficult-to-place, will be referred to the Adoption Information Center. Birth parents seeking adoption planning for their children will also be referred to the Adoption Information Center. (2) Pre-adoptive…

(1) The purpose of case reviews is to ensure that efforts to achieve the permanency goal of adoption are conducted and documented in the child welfare information system and ongoing judicial review social studies reports for every child with an adoption goal. (2) The case review …

(1) The community-based-care (CBC) or subcontractor staff shall ensure that an assessment of adoptive parent resource needs is completed at the beginning of each calendar year, and that recruitment activities are planned for the year based on the results of the assessment. (2) Th…

(1) No person shall be denied the opportunity to become an adoptive parent on the basis of race, color or national origin. The placement of a child with a particular family must not be denied or delayed on the basis of race, color or national origin of the family or the child. (2…

(1) Abuse and neglect history checks must be conducted on all adoptive applicants and other household members 12 years of age and older, pursuant to Sections 39.0138 and 39.521, F.S. The applicants must be informed of this requirement early in the home study process and must prov…

Rulemaking Authority 409.145 FS. Law Implemented 409.145 FS. History-New 5-20-91, Formerly 10M-8.00514, Amended 4-19-94, 7-18-95, Formerly 10M-8.0054, Amended 8-19-03, 11-15-06, 11-30-08, Repealed 7-11-16.

(1) The effective date of the adoptive placement is the date the child is placed in the home of the prospective adoptive parent and all signatures are obtained on the Adoption Assistance Agreement. (2) The adoption placement process incorporates the following: (a) Selection of th…

(1) The Department has a legal responsibility to provide services until the finalization of an adoption. This period shall be a minimum of 90 days from the date the child was placed in the home of the adoptive parent. The first home visit must be made within one (1) week after pl…

Prior to the adoptive parent's confirming their decision to adopt, the adoptive parents shall be told that the child being considered by them has tested positive for HIV but cannot be told the child's identifying information, including the child's name. Once the decision to adopt…

(1) The community-based-care (CBC) or sub-contractor agency adoption staff shall inform prospective adoptive parents of the availability of all of the benefits listed below. (2) Maintenance Subsidy. A monthly payment may be made for support and maintenance of a difficult-to-place…

(1) The purpose of adoption subsidy is to make available to prospective adoptive parents financial aid which would enable them to adopt a difficult-to-place child, which must be established by a written child study or other form of documentation. Every adoptive family must be adv…

(1) The purpose of the Extension of Maintenance Adoption Subsidy is to make available to prospective adoptive parents financial aid that would enable them to adopt a difficult-to-place child who is 14 - 17 years of age. Every adoptive family adopting a child at the age of 14 - 17…

(1) The adoption case manager will provide information, in writing, to the birth and adoptive parents informing them of their rights to consent to the release of adoption records pursuant to Sections 63.162 and 63.165, F.S., within 30 days of adoption finalization. (2) After fina…

(1) Under any adoption assistance agreement with adoptive parents of a difficult-to-place child, the state is authorized to make payments to the adoptive parents as referenced in Section 409.166(7), F.S. Such costs may include expenditures for physical and psychological examinati…

(1) The confidentiality of adoption records, original birth records, and adoption court files is protected by sealing them upon adoption finalization. Persons seeking information from those records will be referred to the Office of Child Welfare, Florida Adoption Reunion Registry…

(1) The state registry of adoption information created in Section 63.165 F.S., is also known as the Florida Adoption Reunion Registry. The Department shall retain and maintain the registry records on a permanent basis. (2) Any person may register by completing and submitting the …

Rulemaking Authority 409.1663(6) FS. Law Implemented 409.1663 FS. History-New 11-30-08, Repealed 12-14-10.

(1) This rule applies when: (a) The child is in the custody of the Department; (b) Parental rights have not been terminated; (c) A parent executes a consent for the child's placement with an adoption entity; and, (d) An adoption entity files a petition to intervene in the depende…

(1) This rule applies to communication or contact between a child who is the subject of a petition for adoption under Chapter 63, F.S., and his or her siblings or other relatives, after: (a) The parents' rights to the child have been terminated; and, (b) The child's custody has b…

(1) The adoption benefit is a non-qualified plan under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code, subject to withholding taxes. (2) To apply for this benefit, the applicant shall use the "Adoption Benefits For State Employees And Other Eligible Applicants," form CF-FSP 5327, (Octo…

Rulemaking Authority 402.17(1)(a)9. (1996 Supp.), 402.33(2), (7)(a) FS. Law Implemented 402.17, 402.17(2)(c) (1996 Supp.) FS. History-New 4-6-99, Amended 5-18-03, Repealed 1-3-16.

For purposes of this rule chapter and the Master Trust Declaration, the following shall apply: (1) "Account" means the client beneficiary's trust account within the Master Trust. (2) "Child support" means either a court-ordered obligation, enforced under Chapter 61, and Sections …

(1) As Trustee, the Department and its contracted providers have a fiduciary responsibility to hold and manage Master Trust accounts. The determination to designate funds to separate subaccounts should be made to balance current and long-term needs of the client. In all instances…

(1) A request for fee waiver or change in personal allowance shall be for a specific sum and no longer than six months in duration. A request shall be effective the month the request and all supporting documentation is received by the Department. However, the effective date may b…

(1) Notice regarding the clients ability to request a fee waiver for cost of care or a change in personal allowance must be filed with the court with the completed Notice of Fee Assessment and Rights of Foster Child, form CF-285D, which is incorporated by reference in Rule 65C-17…

Rulemaking Authority 402.17(1)(a)9. (1996 Supp.), 402.33(2), (7)(a) FS. Law Implemented 402.17, 402.17(2)(c) (1996 Supp.) FS. History-New 5-18-03, Repealed 7-15-24.

Rulemaking Authority 39.0121(7) FS. Law Implemented 409.26731 FS. History-New 7-4-01, Repealed 11-24-19.