Title V, Judicial Branch

(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—(a) The Legislature finds that many children in out-of-home care experience multiple changes in placement, and those transitions often result in trauma not only for the child but also for caregivers, families, siblings, and all professionals i…

(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—(a) The Legislature finds that sibling relationships can provide a significant source of continuity throughout a child’s life and are likely to be the longest relationships that most individuals experience. Further, the placement of siblings together can…

(1) When any child is removed from the home and maintained in an out-of-home placement, the department is authorized to have a medical screening performed on the child without authorization from the court and without consent from a parent or legal custodian. Such medical screenin…

(1) At any stage in a dependency proceeding, any party may request the court to refer the parties to mediation in accordance with chapter 44 and rules and procedures developed by the Supreme Court.(2) A court may refer the parties to mediation. When such services are available, t…

(1) The Legislature finds that the design and delivery of child welfare services should be directed by the principle that the health and safety of children, including the freedom from abuse, abandonment, or neglect, is of paramount concern and, therefore, establishes the followin…

(1) To provide the best care to children, the Legislature establishes as goals for the department to treat foster parents, kinship caregivers, and nonrelative caregivers with dignity, respect, and trust while ensuring delivery of child welfare services is focused on the best inte…

(1) FINDINGS AND INTENT.—(a) The Legislature finds that every day parents make important decisions about their child’s participation in activities and that caregivers for children in out-of-home care are faced with making the same decisions for a child in their care.(b) The Legis…

(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—(a) The Legislature finds that the use of a specialized team that includes an attorney, a social worker, and a parent-peer specialist, also known as a multidisciplinary legal representation model program, in dependency judicial matters is effective in re…

(1) All proceedings seeking an adjudication that a child is dependent shall be initiated by the filing of a petition by an attorney for the department, or any other person who has knowledge of the facts alleged or is informed of them and believes that they are true.(2) The purpos…

(1) Unless parental rights have been terminated, all parents must be notified of all proceedings or hearings involving the child. Notice in cases involving shelter hearings and hearings resulting from medical emergencies must be provided in the manner most likely to result in act…

(1) If the identity or location of a parent is unknown and a petition for dependency or shelter is filed, the court shall conduct under oath the following inquiry of the parent or legal custodian who is available, or, if no parent or legal custodian is available, of any relative …

(1)(a)1. If both parents of a child are deceased or the last known living parent of a child is deceased and a legal custodian has not been appointed for the child through a probate or guardianship proceeding, then an attorney for the department or any other person who has knowled…

(1) At any time after a protective investigation has been initiated pursuant to part III of this chapter, the court, upon the request of the department, a law enforcement officer, the state attorney, or other responsible person, or upon its own motion, may, if there is reasonable…

No answer to the petition or any other pleading need be filed by any child, parent, or legal custodian, but any matters which might be set forth in an answer or other pleading may be pleaded orally before the court or filed in writing as any such person may choose. Notwithstandin…

(1) When a child has been sheltered by order of the court, an arraignment hearing must be held no later than 28 days after the shelter hearing, or within 7 days after the date of filing of the dependency petition if a demand for early filing has been made by any party, for the pa…

(1)(a) The adjudicatory hearing shall be held as soon as practicable after the petition for dependency is filed and in accordance with the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, but no later than 30 days after the arraignment.(b) Adjudicatory hearings shall be conducted by the judg…

(1) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Eligible for long-term foster care” means that reunification with a child’s parent is not an appropriate option for permanency for the child.(b) “May be eligible for special immigrant juvenile status under federal law” means:1. The child…

(1) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to:(a) Provide for the establishment of procedures and protocols that serve to advance the continued safety of children by acknowledging the valued resource uniquely available through grandparents, relatives of chil…

(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:(a) “Kinship care” means the full-time care of a child placed in out-of-home care by the court in the home of a relative or fictive kin.(b) “Kinship navigator program” means a program designed to ensure that kinship caregivers ar…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a maternal or paternal grandparent as well as a stepgrandparent is entitled to reasonable visitation with his or her grandchild who has been adjudicated a dependent child and taken from the physical custody of the parent unless the cour…

(1) Any party to the proceeding who is affected by an order of the court, or the department may appeal to the appropriate district court of appeal within the time and in the manner prescribed by the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure. Appointed counsel shall be compensated as p…

(1) A disposition hearing shall be conducted by the court, if the court finds that the facts alleged in the petition for dependency were proven in the adjudicatory hearing, or if the parents or legal custodians have consented to the finding of dependency or admitted the allegatio…

(1) The court may change the temporary legal custody or the conditions of protective supervision at a postdisposition hearing, without the necessity of another adjudicatory hearing.(2)(a) At any time before a child is residing in the permanent placement approved at the permanency…

(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—(a) The Legislature finds that it is a basic tenet of child welfare practice and the law that a child be placed in the least restrictive, most family-like setting available in close proximity to the home of his or her parents which meets the n…

(1) Except as provided in s. 39.407 or s. 985.801, a dependent child 6 years of age or older who is suspected of being or has been found to be a victim of commercial sexual exploitation as defined in s. 409.016 must be assessed, and the department must conduct a multidisciplinary…

(1) The department shall prepare a draft of the case plan for each child receiving services under this chapter. A parent of a child may not be threatened or coerced with the loss of custody or parental rights for failing to admit in the case plan of abusing, neglecting, or abando…

(1) The services to be provided to the parent and the tasks that must be completed are subject to the following:(a) The services described in the case plan must be designed to improve the conditions in the home and aid in maintaining the child in the home, facilitate the child’s …

(1) After the case plan has been developed under s. 39.6011, the tasks and services agreed upon in the plan may not be changed or altered in any way except as provided in this section.(2) The case plan may be amended at any time in order to change the goal of the plan, employ the…

(1) In the event the parents will not or cannot participate in preparation of a case plan, the department shall submit a full explanation of the circumstances and state the nature of its efforts to secure such persons’ participation in the preparation of a case plan.(2) In a case…

(1) In a case in which the parent is incarcerated, the department shall obtain information from the facility where the parent is incarcerated to determine how the parent can participate in the preparation and completion of the case plan and receive the services that are available…

(1) All case plans and amendments to case plans must be approved by the court. At the hearing on the case plan, which shall occur in conjunction with the disposition hearing unless otherwise directed by the court, the court shall determine:(a) All parties who were notified and ar…

(1) During the year after a child reaches 16 years of age, the department and the community-based care lead agency, in collaboration with the caregiver and any other individual whom the child would like to include, shall assist the child in developing a transition plan. The requi…

(1) The Legislature finds that a committed, caring adult provides a lifeline for a child transitioning out of foster care to live independently. Accordingly, it is the intent of the Legislature that the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office help children connect with supportive adul…

(1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Rilya Wilson Act.”(2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—The Legislature recognizes that children who are in the care of the state due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment are at increased risk of poor school performance and other behavioral and s…

(1) Time is of the essence for permanency of children in the dependency system. A permanency hearing must be held no later than 12 months after the date the child was removed from the home or within 30 days after a court determines that reasonable efforts to return a child to eit…

(1) If a court determines that reunification or adoption is not in the best interest of the child, the court may place the child in a permanent guardianship with a relative or other adult approved by the court if all of the following conditions are met:(a) The child has been in t…

(1) The department shall establish and operate the Guardianship Assistance Program to provide guardianship assistance payments to relatives who meet the eligibility requirements established in this section. For purposes of administering the program, the term:(a) “Child” means an …

(1) If a court finds that reunification or adoption are not in the best interests of a child, the court may place the child with a fit and willing relative as a permanency option if:(a) The child has been in the placement for at least the preceding 6 months;(b) The relative has m…

(1) If a court finds that reunification is not in the best interests of a child, the court may approve placement of the child in another planned permanent living arrangement if:(a) The court finds a more permanent placement, such as adoption, permanent guardianship, or placement …

(1) As used in this section, the term “child” means an individual who has not attained 21 years of age, and the term “young adult” means an individual who has attained 18 years of age but who has not attained 21 years of age.(2) The primary goal for a child in care is permanency.…

(1) GENERAL PROVISIONS.—(a) The court shall have continuing jurisdiction in accordance with this section and shall review the status of the child at least every 6 months as required by this subsection or more frequently if the court deems it necessary or desirable.(b)1. The court…

(1) Citizen review panels may be established in each judicial circuit and shall be authorized by an administrative order executed by the chief judge of each circuit. The court shall administer an oath of office to each citizen review panel member which shall authorize the panel m…

Judicial review does not apply to:(1) Minors who have been placed in adoptive homes by a licensed child-placing agency; or(2) Minors who are refugees or entrants to whom federal regulations apply and who are in the care of a social service agency.History.—s. 9, ch. 87-289; s. 14,…

(1) All procedures, including petitions, pleadings, subpoenas, summonses, and hearings, in termination of parental rights proceedings shall be according to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure unless otherwise provided by law.(2) The circuit court shall have exclusive original…

(1) All proceedings seeking an adjudication to terminate parental rights pursuant to this chapter must be initiated by the filing of an original petition by the department, the guardian ad litem, or any other person who has knowledge of the facts alleged or is informed of them an…

(1) If the identity or location of a parent is unknown and a petition for termination of parental rights is filed, the court shall conduct under oath the following inquiry of the parent who is available, or, if no parent is available, of any relative, caregiver, or legal custodia…