Florida Administrative Code

Rulemaking Authority 402.305 FS. Law Implemented 402.305 FS. History-New 5-21-00, Repealed 11-26-19.

Rulemaking Authority 402.305 FS. Law Implemented 402.305 FS. History-New 5-21-00, Amended 7-13-03, Repealed 11-26-19.

Rulemaking Authority 402.305 FS. Law Implemented 402.305 FS. History-New 5-21-00, Amended 7-13-03, Repealed 11-26-19.

Rulemaking Authority 402.305 FS. Law Implemented 402.302, 402.305, 402.3055 FS. History-New 5-21-00, Amended 7-13-03, Repealed 11-26-19.

Rulemaking Authority 402.305, 402.310 FS. Law Implemented 402.305, 402.310 FS. History-New 11-26-19, Repealed 10-23-25.

Specific Authority 402.3017 FS. Law Implemented 402.3017 FS. History-New 5-29-01, Transferred to 60BB-4.997.

Specific Authority 402.3017 FS. Law Implemented 402.3017 FS. History-New 5-29-01, Transferred to 60BB-4.998.

Specific Authority 402.3017 FS. Law Implemented 402.3017 FS. History-New 5-29-01, Transferred to 60BB-4.999.

Rulemaking Authority 39.407(6)(i) FS. Law Implemented 39.407(6) FS. History-New 12-30-01, Amended 3-12-17, 12-3-19, Repealed 2-7-23.

Rulemaking Authority 39.407(6)(i) FS. Law Implemented 39.407(6) FS. History-New 12-30-01, Amended 3-12-17, 12-3-19, Repealed 2-7-23.

All definitions for this rule are located in Rule 65C-30.001, F.A.C. Rulemaking Authority 39.012, 39.0121, 39.5085(2)(a), 63.233, 409.175(5) FS. Law Implemented 39.401(3), 39.407, 39.5085, 39.521, 39.701, 409.145(1), 409.165(1), 409.175, 409.401 FS. History-New 5-4-06, Amended 5-…

(1) Family Time between a Child in Out-of-Home Care and Parents. (a) Family Time between the child and the child's parents shall occur in accordance with court orders. If the court order conflicts with the safety plan, the child welfare professional shall contact Children's Legal…

(1) If a child in out-of-home care appears to be suffering from illness or injury requiring medical intervention, the child welfare professional, upon notification, or the out-of-home caregiver shall take the child to the child's health care provider for a health care screening o…

Rulemaking Authority 39.012, 39.0121(2), (6), (12), (13), 39.0137, 39.307(7), 39.523(5), 409.145(5) FS. Law Implemented 39.307(1)(b), 39.407, 39.523, 409.145(2) FS. History-New 5-4-06, Amended 5-8-16, 5-30-19, 5-20-21, Repealed 12-25-22.

Rulemaking Authority 39.012, 39.0121(3), (12), (13), 409.145(5), 409.165(3) FS. Law Implemented 39.522, 409.145, 409.165(4) FS. History-New 5-4-06, Amended 5-8-16, Repealed 12-25-22.

(1) Permanency staffings shall be held: (a) When preparing for a permanency hearing; and, (b) As the Department or contracted service provider deems necessary. (2) A family team meeting or conference may be used to achieve the purposes of a permanency staffing. (3) The appropriat…

(1) Voluntary Non-Medical Licensed Out-of-Home Care. (a) Before accepting a voluntary non-medical licensed placement, the community-based care lead agency shall ensure a thorough review is done on the circumstances of the child and family including: 1. An evaluation of whether th…

(1) In order for a relative to receive a monthly Relative Caregiver Program (RCP) payment or a nonrelative caregiver to receive financial assistance (NCFA), the requirements of Section 39.5085, F.S., shall be met. (2) Relative Caregiver Program Payments. (a) A Unified Home Study …

(1) Beginning at age 13, children and young adults in out-of-home care require additional support and coordination necessary to develop the skills to successfully transition to adulthood. The additional supports and coordination are typically provided through independent living s…

(1) When a minor child in the custody of the Department becomes a parent or enters licensed out-of-home care with his or her own child, the parent and child shall reside together in the same placement unless the younger child's safety cannot be managed with an in-home safety plan…

(1) The following criminal, delinquency and abuse/neglect history checks shall be performed when a child is initially placed or remains with a relative or non-relative: (a) For all household members age 12 or older, an abuse/neglect records check through the Department's informat…

(1) Prior to release or placement of a child with another parent, an "Other Parent Home Assessment," CF-FSP 5411, October 2013, incorporated by reference and available at http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-06741, must be completed. (2) For each non-licensed place…

The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (the Act) is federal legislation found in 25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq., that governs child custody proceedings involving children who are members of an Indian tribe or Alaskan Native children as defined by the Act. (1) The child welfare professional…

(1) A child shall be referred for a Comprehensive Behavioral Health Assessment (CBHA): (a) When a child is in shelter status, the child welfare professional responsible for the case shall refer the child for a CBHA within seven (7) calendar days of being removed from his or her h…

(1) Initial Consideration of Need for Residential Treatment. Residential mental health treatment is provided to a child for the specific purpose of addressing the child's mental health needs through observation, diagnosis and treatment in a therapeutic setting, which includes the…

Rulemaking Authority 39.407(3)(g) FS. Law Implemented 39.407(3) FS. History-New 5-4-06, Repealed 12-14-10.

(1) The child welfare professional or designee shall conduct an exit interview with every child age five and older up until the eighteenth birthday who leaves a licensed out-of-home care placement if the child has resided in that placement for 30 days or more. Attempts shall be m…

(1) School stability (for school-age children) and child care or early education program stability (for birth to school age) will be prioritized for children in out-of-home care, unless it is not in the best interest of the child to remain in the school or program of origin as do…

(1) Caregiver decision-making. (a) Supervising agency approval is not required for decisions made by the out-of-home caregiver regarding a child's participation in childhood activities. Childhood activities include attending or participating in: 1. Extracurricular clubs, 2. Schoo…

(1) Household members, excluding current and potential caregivers, 18 years of age and older, who have a physical, developmental, or cognitive disability that prevents that person from safely submitting fingerprints can request an exemption from the fingerprinting requirements se…

This rule applies to qualified residential treatment programs (QRTP). A QRTP is a licensed child-caring agency that provides care for youth who have serious emotional or behavioral disorders or disturbances. (1) Placement of a child in a qualified residential treatment program (Q…

(1) Definitions. (a) "Department" means the Department of Children and Families. (b) "Child" means a child in licensed out-of-home care. (c) "Claimant" means a licensed caregiver who submits a restitution claim alleging property damages and/or direct medical expenses for his or h…

(1) A placement transition multidisciplinary team (MDT) staffing must be held when there are changes in physical custody after a child is placed in out-of-home care. This rule applies to transitions when there are changes in physical custody after a child is placed in out-of-home…

All definitions for this rule are located in Rule 65C-30.001, F.A.C. Rulemaking Authority 39.012, 39.0121 FS. Law Implemented 39.301, 39.302, 39.307 FS. History-New 5-4-06.

(1) The Department shall maintain an automated master file for all calls received by the Florida Abuse Hotline for screening. This file shall contain information on all calls received concerning a child and be maintained in the Department's automated system of record. (2) The tel…

(1) Responding to Reports. (a) The child protective investigator supervisor may downgrade an immediate response to a 24-hour response only if the local investigative unit has obtained additional information from the reporter or law enforcement subsequent to the information collec…

(1) If the institutional report involves a Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facility or institution, the child protective investigator shall comply with the investigations of abuse or neglect in DJJ program requirements pursuant to the Interagency Agreement between the Agency…

Rulemaking Authority 39.012, 39.0121 FS. Law Implemented 39.01, 39.012, 39.201, 39.301 FS. History-New 5-4-06, Repealed 12-31-14.

(1) Foster care referrals involve concerns about possible licensing violations and regulatory infractions for children in an emergency shelter or out-of-home placement, or placement disruptions, case plan, and safety plan violations for children under the supervision of the Depar…

(1) To reduce the stigma of child-on-child sexual abuse and reduce further harm to the child victim(s), the child protective investigator shall use a family-centered, trauma-informed approach to conduct the assessment process. (2) Referrals for services shall not be initiated whe…

(1) Unless a child is exhibiting signs or symptoms of illness, an initial health care assessment by a licensed health care professional shall be completed for every child placed with a relative, non-relative, or in licensed care within five (5) working days of the removal. A chil…

(1) For each report received, the child protective investigator shall request a local history check from local law enforcement on all subjects of the report, household members and any adult visitor to the home who provides care or supervision of the child outside the parent's imm…

(1) When a child protective investigator suspects that a false report has been made, the investigator shall advise the reporter of the potential administrative fines, civil and criminal penalties associated with the filing of a false report. (2) In determining whether a report ha…

(1) Out-of-town inquiries (OTIs) are requests for information exchange between child protective investigators working in counties of different jurisdiction. (a) Requests for interviews of subjects of reports; (b) Requests for intra-state home studies for relative/non-relative eme…

(1) The transfer of a child protective investigation within and between circuits shall be initiated by the supervisor requesting the transfer via telephone or e-mail within 24 hours of identification of the need for transfer. (2) Prior to initiating the request for transfer, the …

(1) The child protective investigator shall make diligent efforts to locate a family prior to closing the investigation. When the family cannot be located at the time of the initial visit, the investigator shall conduct follow-up visits to the home during different times of the d…

Rulemaking Authority 39.012, 39.0121 FS. Law Implemented 39.01, 39.012, 39.0121 FS. History-New 5-4-06, Repealed 12-31-14.

This rule includes the definitions for the following rules: Chapter 65C-15, F.A.C., "Child-Placing Agencies"; Chapter 65C-16, F.A.C., "Adoptions"; Chapter 65C-28, F.A.C., "Out-Of-Home Care"; Chapter 65C-29, F.A.C., "Protective Investigations"; Chapter 65C-30, F.A.C., "General Chi…

(1) Prior to case transfer, the child protection investigator (CPI) is responsible for development, management and modification of safety plans; after case transfer the case manager is responsible for ongoing safety plan development, for safety management, including safety plan m…

(1) Within 30 calendar days of the removal of a child from the physical custody of his or her parent or guardian, the child protective investigator (CPI) shall initiate a diligent search to identify and locate any absent parent. (a) If the child remains in out-of-home care follow…