PART I GENERAL PROVISIONS

PART II REPORTING CHILD ABUSE

PART III PROTECTIVE INVESTIGATIONS

PART IV TAKING CHILDREN INTO CUSTODY AND SHELTER HEARINGS

PART V PETITION, ARRAIGNMENT, ADJUDICATION, AND DISPOSITION

PART VI DISPOSITION; POSTDISPOSITION CHANGE OF CUSTODY

PART VII CASE PLANS

PART VIII PERMANENCY

PART IX JUDICIAL REVIEWS

PART X TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS

PART XI GUARDIANS AD LITEM AND GUARDIAN ADVOCATES

PART XII DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

CHAPTER 39

39.001 Purposes and intent; personnel standards and screening.

(1) PURPOSES OF CHAPTER. —

(2) DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS. —

(3) GENERAL PROTECTIONS FOR CHILDREN. —

(4) SERVICES FOR MEDICALLY COMPLEX CHILDREN. —

(5) SEXUAL EXPLOITATION SERVICES. —

(6) MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES. —

(7) PARENTAL, CUSTODIAL, AND GUARDIAN RESPONSIBILITIES. —

(8) LEGISLATIVE INTENT FOR THE PREVENTION OF ABUSE, ABANDONMENT, AND NEGLECT OF CHILDREN. —

(9) OFFICE OF ADOPTION AND CHILD PROTECTION. —

(10) PLAN FOR COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH. —

(11) FUNDING AND SUBSEQUENT PLANS. —

(12) LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION. —

History. — s. 1, ch. 26880, 1951; s. 1, ch. 73-231; s. 1, ch. 78-414; s. 1, ch. 82-62; s. 62, ch. 85-81; s. 1, ch. 85-206; s. 10, ch. 85-248; s. 19, ch. 86-220; s. 1, ch. 90-53; ss. 1, 2, ch. 90-208; s. 2, ch. 90-306; s. 2, ch. 91-33; s. 68, ch. 91-45; s. 13, ch. 91-57; s. 5, ch. 93-156; s. 23, ch. 93-200; s. 19, ch. 93-230; s. 14, ch. 94-134; s. 14, ch. 94-135; ss. 9, 10, ch. 94-209; s. 1332, ch. 95-147; s. 7, ch. 95-152; s. 8, ch. 95-158; ss. 15, 30, ch. 95-228; s. 116, ch. 95-418; s. 1, ch. 96-268; ss. 128, 156, ch. 97-101; s. 69, ch. 97-103; s. 3, ch. 97-237; s. 119, ch. 97-238; s. 8, ch. 98-137; s. 18, ch. 98-403; s. 1, ch. 99-193; s. 13, ch. 2000-139; s. 5, ch. 2000-151; s. 5, ch. 2000-263; s. 34, ch. 2004-267; s. 2, ch. 2006-97; s. 1, ch. 2006-194; s. 2, ch. 2006-227; s. 1, ch. 2007-124; s. 3, ch. 2008-6; s. 1, ch. 2010-114; s. 42, ch. 2011-142; s. 2, ch. 2012-105; s. 19, ch. 2012-116; s. 4, ch. 2013-15; s. 9, ch. 2014-19; s. 2, ch. 2014-224; s. 1, ch. 2016-127; s. 82, ch. 2016-241; s. 28, ch. 2018-111; s. 10, ch. 2019-3; s. 1, ch. 2019-128.

39.0014 Responsibilities of public agencies.

History. — s. 2, ch. 99-193; s. 2, ch. 2006-194; s. 3, ch. 2007-124.

39.00145 Records concerning children.

(1) The case record of every child under the supervision of or in the custody of the department, the department’s authorized agents, or providers contracting with the department, including community-based care lead agencies and their subcontracted providers, must be maintained in a complete and accurate manner. The case record must contain, at a minimum, the child’s case plan required under

part VII of this

chapter and the full name and street address of all shelters, foster parents, group homes, treatment facilities, or locations where the child has been placed.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, all records in a child’s case record must be made available for inspection, upon request, to the child who is the subject of the case record and to the child’s caregiver, guardian ad litem, or attorney.

(3) If a court determines that sharing information in the child’s case record is necessary to ensure access to appropriate services for the child or for the safety of the child, the court may approve the release of confidential records or information contained in them.

(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all state and local agencies and programs that provide services to children or that are responsible for a child’s safety, including the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Health, the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Education, the Department of Revenue, the school districts, the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office, and any provider contracting with such agencies, may share with each other confidential records or information that are confidential or exempt from disclosure under

chapter 119 if the records or information are reasonably necessary to ensure access to appropriate services for the child, including child support enforcement services, or for the safety of the child. However:

History. — s. 1, ch. 2009-34; s. 2, ch. 2009-43; s. 40, ch. 2011-213.

39.00146 Case record face sheet.

(1) As used in this section, the term:

(2) The case record of every child under the supervision or in the custody of the department or the department’s authorized agents, including community-based care lead agencies and their subcontracted providers, must include a face sheet containing relevant information about the child and his or her case, including at least all of the following:

(3) The department, the department’s authorized agents, or providers contracting with the department, including community-based care lead agencies, must ensure that the face sheet for each case is updated at least once per month. This requirement includes ensuring that the department, its authorized agents, or providers contracting with the department gather any relevant information from any subcontracted providers who provide services for the case record information required to be included under this section.

(4) The case record face sheet must be in a uniform and standardized format for use statewide and must be developed, either by the department or a third party, using real-time data from the state child welfare information system. The department may develop a specific case record face sheet or may contract with a third party to use existing software that, at a minimum, meets the requirements of subsection (2). The case record face sheet developed or contracted for use under this

section must be electronic and have the capability to be printed. The community-based care lead agencies shall use this uniform and standardized case record face sheet to comply with this section.

(5) The department shall adopt rules to implement this section.

History. — s. 1, ch. 2021-169; s. 2, ch. 2022-4.

39.0016 Education of abused, neglected, and abandoned children; agency agreements; children having or suspected of having a disability.

(1) DEFINITIONS. —

(2) AGENCY AGREEMENTS. —

(3) CHILDREN HAVING OR SUSPECTED OF HAVING A DISABILITY. —

(4) TRAINING. —

History. — s. 3, ch. 2004-356; s. 1, ch. 2009-35; s. 10, ch. 2014-19; s. 1, ch. 2015-130.

39.01

Definitions.

(1) “Abandoned” or “abandonment” means a situation in which the parent or legal custodian of a child or, in the absence of a parent or legal custodian, the caregiver, while being able, has made no significant contribution to the child’s care and maintenance or has failed to establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship with the child, or both.

For purposes of this subsection, “establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship” includes, but is not limited to, frequent and regular contact with the child through frequent and regular visitation or frequent and regular communication to or with the child, and the exercise of parental rights and responsibilities. Marginal efforts and incidental or token visits or communications are not sufficient to establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship with a child.

A man’s acknowledgment of paternity of the child does not limit the period of time considered in determining whether the child was abandoned. The term does not include a surrendered newborn infant as described in s. 383.50, a “child in need of services” as defined in

chapter 984, or a “family in need of services” as defined in

chapter 984. The absence of a parent, legal custodian, or caregiver responsible for a child’s welfare, who is a servicemember, by reason of deployment or anticipated deployment as defined in 50 U.S.C. s. 3938(e), may not be considered or used as a factor in determining abandonment. The incarceration, repeated incarceration, or extended incarceration of a parent, legal custodian, or caregiver responsible for a child’s welfare may support a finding of abandonment.

(2) “Abuse” means any willful act or threatened act that results in any physical, mental, or sexual abuse, injury, or harm that causes or is likely to cause the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health to be significantly impaired.

Abuse of a child includes the birth of a new child into a family during the course of an open dependency case when the parent or caregiver has been determined to lack the protective capacity to safely care for the children in the home and has not substantially complied with the case plan towards successful reunification or met the conditions for return of the children into the home. Abuse of a child includes acts or omissions. Corporal discipline of a child by a parent or legal custodian for disciplinary purposes does not in itself constitute abuse when it does not result in harm to the child.

(3) “Addictions receiving facility” means a substance abuse service provider as defined in

chapter 397.

(4) “Adjudicatory hearing” means a hearing for the court to determine whether or not the facts support the allegations stated in the petition in dependency cases or in termination of parental rights cases.

(5) “Adoption” means the act of creating the legal relationship between parent and child where it did not exist, thereby declaring the child to be legally the child of the adoptive parents and their heir at law, and entitled to all the rights and privileges and subject to all the obligations of a child born to the adoptive parents in lawful wedlock.

(6) “Adult” means any natural person other than a child.

(7) “Arbitration” means a process whereby a neutral third person or panel, called an arbitrator or an arbitration panel, considers the facts and arguments presented by the parties and renders a decision which may be binding or nonbinding.

(8) “Authorized agent” or “designee” of the department means an employee, volunteer, or other person or agency determined by the state to be eligible for state-funded risk management coverage, which is assigned or designated by the department to perform duties or exercise powers under this chapter.

(9) “Caregiver” means the parent, legal custodian, permanent guardian, adult household member, or other person responsible for a child’s welfare as defined in subsection (54).

(10) “Case plan” means a document, as described in s. 39.6011, prepared by the department with input from all parties. The case plan follows the child from the provision of voluntary services through any dependency, foster care, or termination of parental rights proceeding or related activity or process.

(11) “Child” or “youth” means any unmarried person under the age of 18 years who has not been emancipated by order of the court.

(12) “Child Protection Team” means a team of professionals established by the Department of Health to receive referrals from the protective investigators and protective supervision staff of the department and to provide specialized and supportive services to the program in processing child abuse, abandonment, or neglect cases. A Child Protection Team shall provide consultation to other programs of the department and other persons regarding child abuse, abandonment, or neglect cases.

(13) “Child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior” means a child who has been found by the department or the court to have committed an inappropriate sexual act.

(14) “Child who is found to be dependent” means a child who, pursuant to this chapter, is found by the court:

(15) “Child support” means a court-ordered obligation, enforced under

chapter 61 and ss. 409.2551-409.2597, for monetary support for the care, maintenance, training, and education of a child.

(16) “Circuit” means any of the 20 judicial circuits as set forth in s. 26.021.

(17) “Comprehensive assessment” or “assessment” means the gathering of information for the evaluation of a child’s and caregiver’s physical, psychiatric, psychological, or mental health; developmental delays or challenges; and educational, vocational, and social condition and family environment as they relate to the child’s and caregiver’s need for rehabilitative and treatment services, including substance abuse treatment services, mental health services, developmental services, literacy services, medical services, family services, and other specialized services, as appropriate.

(18) “Concurrent planning” means establishing a permanency goal in a case plan that uses reasonable efforts to reunify the child with the parent, while at the same time establishing another goal that must be one of the following options:

(19) “Court,” unless otherwise expressly stated, means the circuit court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under this chapter.

(20) “Department” means the Department of Children and Families.

(21) “Diligent efforts by a parent” means a course of conduct which results in a meaningful change in the behavior of a parent that reduces risk to the child in the child’s home to the extent that the child may be safely placed permanently back in the home as set forth in the case plan.

(22) “Diligent efforts of social service agency” means reasonable efforts to provide social services or reunification services made by any social service agency that is a party to a case plan.

(23) “Diligent search” means the efforts of a social service agency to locate a parent or prospective parent whose identity or location is unknown, initiated as soon as the social service agency is made aware of the existence of such parent, with the search progress reported at each court hearing until the parent is either identified and located or the court excuses further search.

(24) “Disposition hearing” means a hearing in which the court determines the most appropriate protections, services, and placement for the child in dependency cases.

(25) “Expedited termination of parental rights” means proceedings wherein a case plan with the goal of reunification is not being offered.

(26) “False report” means a report of abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a child to the central abuse hotline, which report is maliciously made for the purpose of:

(27) “Family” means a collective body of persons, consisting of a child and a parent, legal custodian, or adult relative, in which:

(28) “Fictive kin” means a person unrelated by birth, marriage, or adoption who has an emotionally significant relationship, which possesses the characteristics of a family relationship, to a child.

(29) “Foster care” means care provided a child in a foster family or boarding home, group home, agency boarding home, child care institution, or any combination thereof.

(30) “Guardian” means a relative, nonrelative, next of kin, or fictive kin who is awarded physical custody of a child in a proceeding brought pursuant to this chapter.

(31) “Guardianship assistance payment” means a monthly cash payment made by the department to a guardian on behalf of an eligible child or young adult.

(32) “Guardianship Assistance Program” means a program that provides benefits to a child’s guardian on behalf of the child. Benefits may be in the form of a guardianship assistance payment, a guardianship nonrecurring payment, or Medicaid coverage.

(33) “Guardianship nonrecurring payment” means a one-time payment of up to $2,000 made by the department to a guardian to assist with the expenses associated with obtaining legal guardianship of a child who is eligible for the Guardianship Assistance Program pursuant to s. 39.6225.

(34) “Harm” to a child’s health or welfare can occur when any person:

(35) “Impending danger” means a situation in which family behaviors, attitudes, motives, emotions, or situations pose a threat that may not be currently active but that can be anticipated to become active and to have severe effects on a child at any time.

(36) “Institutional child abuse or neglect” means situations of known or suspected child abuse or neglect in which the person allegedly perpetrating the child abuse or neglect is an employee of a public or private school, public or private day care center, residential home, institution, facility, or agency or any other person at such institution responsible for the child’s welfare as defined in subsection (54).

(37) “Judge” means the circuit judge exercising jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter.

(38) “Juvenile sexual abuse” means any sexual behavior by a child which occurs without consent, without equality, or as a result of coercion. For purposes of this subsection, the following

definitions apply:

(39) “Legal custody” means a legal status created by a court which vests in a custodian of the person or guardian, whether an agency or an individual, the right to have physical custody of the child and the right and duty to protect, nurture, guide, and discipline the child and to provide him or her with food, shelter, education, and ordinary medical, dental, psychiatric, and psychological care.

(40) “Legal father” means a man married to the mother at the time of conception or birth of their child, unless paternity has been otherwise determined by a court of competent jurisdiction. If the mother was not married to a man at the time of birth or conception of the child, the term means a man named on the birth certificate of the child pursuant to s. 382.013(2), a man determined by a court order to be the father of the child, or a man determined to be the father of the child by the Department of Revenue as provided in s. 409.256.

(41) “Licensed child-caring agency” means a person, society, association, or agency licensed by the department to care for, receive, and board children.

(42) “Licensed child-placing agency” means a person, society, association, or institution licensed by the department to care for, receive, or board children and to place children in a licensed child-caring institution or a foster or adoptive home.

(43) “Licensed health care professional” means a physician licensed under

chapter 458, an osteopathic physician licensed under

chapter 459, a nurse licensed under

part I of

chapter 464, a physician assistant licensed under

chapter 458 or

chapter 459, or a dentist licensed under

chapter 466.

(44) “Likely to injure oneself” means that, as evidenced by violent or other actively self-destructive behavior, it is more likely than not that within a 24-hour period the child will attempt to commit suicide or inflict serious bodily harm on himself or herself.

(45) “Likely to injure others” means that it is more likely than not that within a 24-hour period the child will inflict serious and unjustified bodily harm on another person.

(46) “Mediation” means a process whereby a neutral third person called a mediator acts to encourage and facilitate the resolution of a dispute between two or more parties. It is an informal and nonadversarial process with the objective of helping the disputing parties reach a mutually acceptable and voluntary agreement. The role of the mediator includes, but is not limited to, assisting the parties in identifying issues, fostering joint problem solving, and exploring settlement alternatives.

(47) “Medical neglect” means the failure to provide or the failure to allow needed care as recommended by a health care practitioner for a physical injury, illness, medical condition, or impairment, or the failure to seek timely and appropriate medical care for a serious health problem that a reasonable person would have recognized as requiring professional medical attention. Medical neglect does not occur if the parent or legal guardian of the child has made reasonable attempts to obtain necessary health care services or the immediate health condition giving rise to the allegation of neglect is a known and expected complication of the child’s diagnosis or treatment and:

(48) “Mental injury” means an injury to the intellectual or psychological capacity of a child as evidenced by a discernible and substantial impairment in the ability to function within the normal range of performance and behavior.

(49) “Necessary medical treatment” means care which is necessary within a reasonable degree of medical certainty to prevent the deterioration of a child’s condition or to alleviate immediate pain of a child.

(50) “Neglect” occurs when a child is deprived of, or is allowed to be deprived of, necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment or a child is permitted to live in an environment when such deprivation or environment causes the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health to be significantly impaired or to be in danger of being significantly impaired. The foregoing circumstances shall not be considered neglect if caused primarily by financial inability unless actual services for relief have been offered to and rejected by such person.

A parent or legal custodian legitimately practicing religious beliefs in accordance with a recognized church or religious organization who thereby does not provide specific medical treatment for a child may not, for that reason alone, be considered a negligent parent or legal custodian; however, such an exception does not preclude a court from ordering the following services to be provided, when the health of the child so requires:

(51) “Next of kin” means an adult relative of a child who is the child’s brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or first cousin.

(52) “Nonrelative” means a person unrelated by blood or marriage or a relative outside the fifth degree of consanguinity.

(53) “Office” means the Office of Adoption and Child Protection within the Executive Office of the Governor.

(54) “Other person responsible for a child’s welfare” includes the child’s legal guardian or foster parent; an employee of any school, public or private child day care center, residential home, institution, facility, or agency; a law enforcement officer employed in any facility, service, or program for children that is operated or contracted by the Department of Juvenile Justice; or any other person legally responsible for the child’s welfare in a residential setting; and also includes an adult sitter or relative entrusted with a child’s care.

For the purpose of departmental investigative jurisdiction, this definition does not include the following persons when they are acting in an official capacity: law enforcement officers, except as otherwise provided in this subsection; employees of municipal or county detention facilities; or employees of the Department of Corrections.

(55) “Out-of-home” means a placement outside of the home of the parents or a parent.

(56) “Parent” means a woman who gives birth to a child and a man whose consent to the adoption of the child would be required under s. 63.062(1). The term “parent” also means legal father as defined in this section. If a child has been legally adopted, the term “parent” means the adoptive mother or father of the child. For purposes of this

chapter only, when the phrase “parent or legal custodian” is used, it refers to rights or responsibilities of the parent and, only if there is no living parent with intact parental rights, to the rights or responsibilities of the legal custodian who has assumed the role of the parent. The term does not include an individual whose parental relationship to the child has been legally terminated, or an alleged or prospective parent, unless:

(57) “Participant,” for purposes of a shelter proceeding, dependency proceeding, or termination of parental rights proceeding, means any person who is not a party but who should receive notice of hearings involving the child, including the actual custodian of the child, the foster parents or the legal custodian of the child, identified prospective parents, and any other person whose participation may be in the best interest of the child. A community-based agency under contract with the department to provide protective services may be designated as a participant at the discretion of the court.

Participants may be granted leave by the court to be heard without the necessity of filing a motion to intervene.

(58) “Party” means the parent or parents of the child, the petitioner, the department, the guardian ad litem or the representative of the guardian ad litem program when the program has been appointed, and the child. The presence of the child may be excused by order of the court when presence would not be in the child’s best interest. Notice to the child may be excused by order of the court when the age, capacity, or other condition of the child is such that the notice would be meaningless or detrimental to the child.

(59) “Permanency goal” means the living arrangement identified for the child to return to or identified as the permanent living arrangement of the child. The permanency goal is also the case plan goal. If concurrent case planning is being used, reunification may be pursued at the same time that another permanency goal is pursued.

(60) “Permanency plan” means the plan that establishes the placement intended to serve as the child’s permanent home.

(61) “Permanent guardian” means the relative or other adult in a permanent guardianship of a dependent child under s. 39.6221.

(62) “Permanent guardianship of a dependent child” means a legal relationship that a court creates under s. 39.6221 between a child and a relative or other adult approved by the court which is intended to be permanent and self-sustaining through the transfer of parental rights with respect to the child relating to protection, education, care and control of the person, custody of the person, and decisionmaking on behalf of the child.

(63) “Physical injury” means death, permanent or temporary disfigurement, or impairment of any bodily part.

(64) “Physician” means any licensed physician, dentist, podiatric physician, or optometrist and includes any intern or resident.

(65) “Preliminary screening” means the gathering of preliminary information to be used in determining a child’s need for further evaluation or assessment or for referral for other substance abuse services through means such as psychosocial interviews; urine and breathalyzer screenings; and reviews of available educational, delinquency, and dependency records of the child.

(66) “Present danger” means a significant and clearly observable family condition that is occurring at the current moment and is already endangering or threatening to endanger the child. Present danger threats are conspicuous and require that an immediate protective action be taken to ensure the child’s safety.

(67) “Preventive services” means social services and other supportive and rehabilitative services provided to the parent or legal custodian of the child and to the child for the purpose of averting the removal of the child from the home or disruption of a family which will or could result in the placement of a child in foster care. Social services and other supportive and rehabilitative services shall promote the child’s developmental needs and need for physical, mental, and emotional health and a safe, stable, living environment; shall promote family autonomy; and shall strengthen family life, whenever possible.

(68) “Prospective parent” means a person who claims to be, or has been identified as, a person who may be a mother or a father of a child.

(69) “Protective investigation” means the acceptance of a report alleging child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, as defined in this chapter, by the central abuse hotline or the acceptance of a report of other dependency by the department; the investigation of each report; the determination of whether action by the court is warranted; the determination of the disposition of each report without court or public agency action when appropriate; and the referral of a child to another public or private agency when appropriate.

(70) “Protective investigator” means an authorized agent of the department who receives and investigates reports of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect; who, as a result of the investigation, may recommend that a dependency petition be filed for the child; and who performs other duties necessary to carry out the required actions of the protective investigation function.

(71) “Protective supervision” means a legal status in dependency cases which permits the child to remain safely in his or her own home or other nonlicensed placement under the supervision of an agent of the department and which must be reviewed by the court during the period of supervision.

(72) “Qualified professional” means a physician or a physician assistant licensed under

chapter 458 or

chapter 459; a psychiatrist licensed under

chapter 458 or

chapter 459; a psychologist as defined in s. 490.003(7) or a professional licensed under

chapter 491; or a psychiatric nurse as defined in s. 394.455.

(73) “Relative” means a grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, first cousin, aunt, uncle, great-aunt, great-uncle, niece, or nephew, whether related by the whole or half blood, by affinity, or by adoption. The term does not include a stepparent.

(74) “Reunification services” means social services and other supportive and rehabilitative services provided to the parent of the child, to the child, and, where appropriate, to the relative placement, nonrelative placement, or foster parents of the child, for the purpose of enabling a child who has been placed in out-of-home care to safely return to his or her parent at the earliest possible time. The health and safety of the child shall be the paramount goal of social services and other supportive and rehabilitative services.

The services shall promote the child’s need for physical, developmental, mental, and emotional health and a safe, stable, living environment; shall promote family autonomy; and shall strengthen family life, whenever possible.

(75) “Safety plan” means a plan created to control present or impending danger using the least intrusive means appropriate to protect a child when a parent, caregiver, or legal custodian is unavailable, unwilling, or unable to do so.

(76) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Children and Families.

(77) “Sexual abuse of a child” for purposes of finding a child to be dependent means one or more of the following acts:

(78) “Shelter” means a placement with a relative or a nonrelative, or in a licensed home or facility, for the temporary care of a child who is alleged to be or who has been found to be dependent, pending court disposition before or after adjudication.

(79) “Shelter hearing” means a hearing in which the court determines whether probable cause exists to keep a child in shelter status pending further investigation of the case.

(80) “Sibling” means:

(81) “Social service agency” means the department, a licensed child-caring agency, or a licensed child-placing agency.

(82) “Social worker” means any person who has a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in social work.

(83) “Substance abuse” means using, without medical reason, any psychoactive or mood-altering drug, including alcohol, in such a manner as to induce impairment resulting in dysfunctional social behavior.

(84) “Substantial compliance” means that the circumstances which caused the creation of the case plan have been significantly remedied to the extent that the well-being and safety of the child will not be endangered upon the child’s remaining with or being returned to the child’s parent.

(85) “Taken into custody” means the status of a child immediately when temporary physical control over the child is attained by a person authorized by law, pending the child’s release or placement.

(86) “Temporary legal custody” means the relationship that a court creates between a child and an adult relative of the child, legal custodian, agency, or other person approved by the court until a more permanent arrangement is ordered. Temporary legal custody confers upon the custodian the right to have temporary physical custody of the child and the right and duty to protect, nurture, guide, and discipline the child and to provide the child with food, shelter, and education, and ordinary medical, dental, psychiatric, and psychological care, unless these rights and duties are otherwise enlarged or limited by the court order establishing the temporary legal custody relationship.

(87) “Victim” means any child who has sustained or is threatened with physical, mental, or emotional injury identified in a report involving child abuse, neglect, or abandonment, or child-on-child sexual abuse.

History. — s. 1, ch. 26880, 1951; ss. 1, 2, ch. 67-585; s. 3, ch. 69-353; s. 4, ch. 69-365; ss. 19, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 71-117; s. 1, ch. 71-130; s. 10, ch. 71-355; ss. 4, 5, ch. 72-179; ss. 19, 30, ch. 72-404; ss. 2, 23, ch. 73-231; s. 1, ch. 74-368; ss. 15, 27, 28, ch. 75-48; s. 4, ch. 77-147; s. 2, ch. 78-414; s. 9, ch. 79-164; s. 2, ch. 79-203; s. 1, ch. 80-290; ss. 1, 17, ch. 81-218; ss. 4, 15, ch. 84-311; s. 4, ch. 85-80; s. 2, ch. 85-206; ss. 73, 78, ch. 86-220; s. 1, ch. 87-133; s. 1, ch. 87-289; s. 12, ch. 87-397; s. 1, ch. 88-319; s. 10, ch. 88-337; s. 2, ch. 90-53; s. 3, ch. 90-208; s. 3, ch. 90-306; s. 2, ch. 90-309; s. 69, ch. 91-45; s. 1, ch. 91-183; s. 1, ch. 92-158; s. 1, ch. 92-170; ss. 1, 4(1st), 14, ch. 92-287; s. 13, ch. 93-39; s. 6, ch. 93-230; s. 1, ch. 94-164; s. 11, ch. 94-209; s. 50, ch. 94-232; s. 1333, ch. 95-147; s. 8, ch. 95-152; s. 1, ch. 95-212; s. 4, ch. 95-228; s. 1, ch. 95-266; ss. 3, 43, ch. 95-267; s. 3, ch. 96-369; s. 2, ch. 96-398; s. 20, ch. 96-402; s. 23, ch. 97-96; s. 158, ch. 97-101; s. 44, ch. 97-190; s. 4, ch. 97-234; s. 111, ch. 97-238; s. 1, ch. 97-276; s. 1, ch. 98-49; s. 176, ch. 98-166; s. 7, ch. 98-280; s. 20, ch. 98-403; s. 15, ch. 99-2; s. 3, ch. 99-168; s. 2, ch. 99-186; s. 4, ch. 99-193; s. 15, ch. 2000-139; s. 2, ch. 2000-188; s. 82, ch. 2000-318; s. 9, ch. 2000-320; s. 14, ch. 2002-1; s. 2, ch. 2006-62; s. 1, ch. 2006-86; s. 4, ch. 2006-194; s. 4, ch. 2007-124; s. 1, ch. 2008-90; s. 1, ch. 2008-154; s. 1, ch. 2008-245; s. 1, ch. 2009-21; s. 3, ch. 2012-105; s. 1, ch. 2012-178; s. 11, ch. 2014-19; s. 14, ch. 2014-160; s. 3, ch. 2014-224; s. 2, ch. 2015-34; s. 1, ch. 2016-24; s. 1, ch. 2016-71; s. 11, ch. 2016-105; s. 2, ch. 2016-241; s. 2, ch. 2017-151; s. 1, ch. 2018-103; s. 11, ch. 2019-3; s. 1, ch. 2019-142; s. 1, ch. 2020-65; s. 3, ch. 2021-51.

39.011 Immunity from liability.

(1) In no case shall employees or agents of the department or a social service agency acting in good faith be liable for damages as a result of failing to provide services agreed to under the case plan unless the failure to provide such services occurs as a result of bad faith or malicious purpose or occurs in a manner exhibiting wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property.

(2) The inability or failure of the department or of a social service agency or the employees or agents of the social service agency to provide the services agreed to under the case plan shall not render the state or the social service agency liable for damages unless such failure to provide services occurs in a manner exhibiting wanton or willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property.

(3) A member or agent of a citizen review panel acting in good faith is not liable for damages as a result of any review or recommendation with regard to a dependency matter unless such member or agent exhibits wanton and willful disregard of human rights or safety, or property.

History. — s. 9, ch. 87-289; s. 13, ch. 90-306; s. 7, ch. 97-95; s. 21, ch. 98-403; s. 5, ch. 99-193.

39.012 Rules for implementation.

History. — s. 2, ch. 87-289; s. 4, ch. 90-208; s. 12, ch. 94-209; s. 1, ch. 97-101; s. 120, ch. 97-238; s. 22, ch. 98-403.

39.0121 Specific rulemaking authority.

(1) Background screening of department employees and applicants; criminal records checks of prospective foster and adoptive parents; and drug testing of protective investigators.

(2) Reporting of child abuse, neglect, and abandonment; reporting of child-on-child sexual abuse; false reporting; child protective investigations; taking a child into protective custody; and shelter procedures.

(3) Confidentiality and retention of department records; access to records; and record requests.

(4) Department and client trust funds.

(5) Requesting of services from Child Protection Teams.

(6) Consent to and provision of medical care and treatment for children in the care of the department.

(7) Federal funding requirements and procedures; foster care and adoption subsidies; and subsidized independent living.

(8) Agreements with law enforcement and other state agencies; access to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC); and access to the parent locator service.

(9) Licensing, registration, and certification of child day care providers, shelter and foster homes, and residential child-caring and child-placing agencies.

(10) The Intensive Crisis Counseling Program and any other early intervention programs and kinship care assistance programs.

(11) Department contracts, pilot programs, and demonstration projects.

(12) Legal and casework procedures, including, but not limited to, mediation, diligent search, stipulations, consents, surrenders, and default, with respect to dependency, termination of parental rights, adoption, guardianship, and kinship care proceedings.

(13) Legal and casework management of cases involving in-home supervision and out-of-home care, including judicial reviews, administrative reviews, case plans, and any other documentation or procedures required by federal or state law.

(14) Injunctions and other protective orders, domestic-violence-related cases, and certification of domestic violence centers.

(15) Provision for making available to all physical custodians and family services counselors the information required by s. 39.6012(2) and for ensuring that this information follows the child until permanency has been achieved.

(16) Provisions for reporting, locating, recovering, and stabilizing children whose whereabouts become unknown while they are involved with the department and for preventing recurrences of such incidents. At a minimum, the rules must:

History. — s. 23, ch. 98-403; s. 6, ch. 99-193; s. 2, ch. 2006-86; s. 2, ch. 2008-245; s. 1, ch. 2010-210; s. 41, ch. 2011-213; s. 12, ch. 2019-3.

39.013 Procedures and jurisdiction; right to counsel.

(1) All procedures, including petitions, pleadings, subpoenas, summonses, and hearings, in this

chapter shall be conducted according to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure unless otherwise provided by law. Parents must be informed by the court of their right to counsel in dependency proceedings at each stage of the dependency proceedings. Parents who are unable to afford counsel must be appointed counsel.

(2) The circuit court has exclusive original jurisdiction of all proceedings under this chapter, of a child voluntarily placed with a licensed child-caring agency, a licensed child-placing agency, or the department, and of the adoption of children whose parental rights have been terminated under this chapter. Jurisdiction attaches when the initial shelter petition, dependency petition, or termination of parental rights petition, or a petition for an injunction to prevent child abuse issued pursuant to s. 39.504, is filed or when a child is taken into the custody of the department.

The circuit court may assume jurisdiction over any such proceeding regardless of whether the child was in the physical custody of both parents, was in the sole legal or physical custody of only one parent, caregiver, or some other person, or was not in the physical or legal custody of any person when the event or condition occurred that brought the child to the attention of the court.

When the court obtains jurisdiction of any child who has been found to be dependent, the court shall retain jurisdiction, unless relinquished by its order, until the child reaches 21 years of age, or 22 years of age if the child has a disability, with the following exceptions:

(3) When a child is under the jurisdiction of the circuit court pursuant to this chapter, the circuit court assigned to handle dependency matters may exercise the general and equitable jurisdiction over guardianship proceedings under

chapter 744 and proceedings for temporary custody of minor children by extended family under

chapter 751.

(4) Orders entered pursuant to this

chapter which affect the placement of, access to, parental time with, adoption of, or parental rights and responsibilities for a minor child shall take precedence over other orders entered in civil actions or proceedings. However, if the court has terminated jurisdiction, the order may be subsequently modified by a court of competent jurisdiction in any other civil action or proceeding affecting placement of, access to, parental time with, adoption of, or parental rights and responsibilities for the same minor child.

(5) The court shall expedite the resolution of the placement issue in cases involving a child who has been removed from the parent and placed in an out-of-home placement.

(6) The court shall expedite the judicial handling of all cases when the child has been removed from the parent and placed in an out-of-home placement.

(7) Children removed from their homes shall be provided equal treatment with respect to goals, objectives, services, and case plans, without regard to the location of their placement.

(8) For any child who remains in the custody of the department, the court shall, within the month which constitutes the beginning of the 6-month period before the child’s 18th birthday, hold a hearing to review the progress of the child while in the custody of the department.

(9)(

a) At each stage of the proceedings under this chapter, the court shall advise the parents of the right to counsel. The court shall appoint counsel for indigent parents. The court shall ascertain whether the right to counsel is understood. When right to counsel is waived, the court shall determine whether the waiver is knowing and intelligent. The court shall enter its findings in writing with respect to the appointment or waiver of counsel for indigent parents or the waiver of counsel by nonindigent parents.

(10) Court-appointed counsel representing indigent parents at shelter hearings shall be paid from state funds appropriated by general law.

(11) The court shall encourage the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office to provide greater representation to those children who are within 1 year of transferring out of foster care.

(12) The department shall be represented by counsel in each dependency proceeding. Through its attorneys, the department shall make recommendations to the court on issues before the court and may support its recommendations through testimony and other evidence by its own employees, employees of sheriff’s offices providing child protection services, employees of its contractors, employees of its contractor’s subcontractors, or from any other relevant source.

History. — s. 20, ch. 78-414; s. 5, ch. 84-311; s. 4, ch. 87-289; s. 4, ch. 90-306; s. 2, ch. 92-158; s. 3, ch. 94-164; s. 5, ch. 95-228; s. 8, ch. 98-280; s. 24, ch. 98-403; s. 7, ch. 99-193; s. 16, ch. 2000-139; s. 1, ch. 2002-216; s. 1, ch. 2005-179; s. 3, ch. 2005-239; s. 3, ch. 2006-86; s. 5, ch. 2006-194; s. 2, ch. 2012-178; s. 2, ch. 2013-178; s. 4, ch. 2014-224; s. 3, ch. 2017-151.

39.01304 Early childhood court programs.

(1) A circuit court may create an early childhood court program to serve the needs of infants and toddlers in dependency court. If a circuit court creates an early childhood court program, it may consider all of the following factors:

(2) The Office of the State Courts Administrator shall contract for an evaluation of the early childhood court programs to ensure the quality, accountability, and fidelity of the programs’ evidence-based treatment. The Office of the State Courts Administrator may provide, or contract for the provision of, training and technical assistance related to program services, consultation and guidance for difficult cases, and ongoing training for court teams.

History. — s. 2, ch. 2020-138.

39.01305 Appointment of an attorney for a dependent child with certain special needs.

(1)(

a) The Legislature finds that:

(2) As used in this section, the term “dependent child” means a child who is subject to any proceeding under this chapter. The term does not require that a child be adjudicated dependent for purposes of this section.

(3) An attorney shall be appointed for a dependent child who:

(4)(

a) Before a court may appoint an attorney, who may be compensated pursuant to this section, the court must request a recommendation from the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office for an attorney who is willing to represent a child without additional compensation. If such an attorney is available within 15 days after the court’s request, the court must appoint that attorney. However, the court may appoint a compensated attorney within the 15-day period if the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office informs the court that it will not be able to recommend an attorney within that time period.

(5) Unless the attorney has agreed to provide pro bono services, an appointed attorney or organization must be adequately compensated. All appointed attorneys and organizations, including pro bono attorneys, must be provided with access to funding for expert witnesses, depositions, and other due process costs of litigation. Payment of attorney fees and case-related due process costs are subject to appropriations and review by the Justice Administrative Commission for reasonableness. The Justice Administrative Commission shall contract with attorneys appointed by the court. Attorney fees may not exceed $1,000 per child per year.

(6) The department shall develop procedures to identify a dependent child who has a special need specified under subsection (3) and to request that a court appoint an attorney for the child.

(7) The department may adopt rules to administer this section.

(8) This

section does not limit the authority of the court to appoint an attorney for a dependent child in a proceeding under this chapter.

(9) Implementation of this

section is subject to appropriations expressly made for that purpose.

History. — s. 1, ch. 2014-227; s. 2, ch. 2018-14; s. 5, ch. 2021-189.

39.0131 Permanent mailing address designation.

History. — s. 11, ch. 94-164; s. 25, ch. 98-403.

39.0132 Oaths, records, and confidential information.

(1) The judge, clerks or deputy clerks, or authorized agents of the department shall each have the power to administer oaths and affirmations.

(2) The court shall make and keep records of all cases brought before it pursuant to this

chapter and shall preserve the records pertaining to a dependent child until 7 years after the last entry was made, or until the child is 18 years of age, whichever date is first reached, and may then destroy them, except that records of cases where orders were entered permanently depriving a parent of the custody of a juvenile shall be preserved permanently. The court shall make official records, consisting of all petitions and orders filed in a case arising pursuant to this

chapter and any other pleadings, certificates, proofs of publication, summonses, warrants, and other writs which may be filed therein.

(3) The clerk shall keep all court records required by this

chapter separate from other records of the circuit court. All court records required by this

chapter shall not be open to inspection by the public. All records shall be inspected only upon order of the court by persons deemed by the court to have a proper interest therein, except that, subject to the provisions of s. 63.162, a child and the parents of the child and their attorneys, the guardian ad litem, criminal conflict and civil regional counsels, law enforcement agencies, and the department and its designees shall always have the right to inspect and copy any official record pertaining to the child. The Justice Administrative Commission may inspect court dockets required by this

chapter as necessary to audit compensation of court-appointed attorneys. If the docket is insufficient for purposes of the audit, the commission may petition the court for additional documentation as necessary and appropriate. The court may permit authorized representatives of recognized organizations compiling statistics for proper purposes to inspect and make abstracts from official records, under whatever conditions upon their use and disposition the court may deem proper, and may punish by contempt proceedings any violation of those conditions.

(4)(a)1. All information obtained pursuant to this

part in the discharge of official duty by any judge, employee of the court, authorized agent of the department, correctional probation officer, or law enforcement agent is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and may not be disclosed to anyone other than the authorized personnel of the court, the department and its designees, correctional probation officers, law enforcement agents, the guardian ad litem, criminal conflict and civil regional counsels, and others entitled under this

chapter to receive that information, except upon order of the court.

(5) All orders of the court entered pursuant to this

chapter shall be in writing and signed by the judge, except that the clerk or deputy clerk may sign a summons or notice to appear.

(6) No court record of proceedings under this

chapter shall be admissible in evidence in any other civil or criminal proceeding, except that:

(7) Final orders, records, and evidence in any proceeding under this

chapter which are subsequently admitted in evidence pursuant to subsection (6) remain subject to subsections (3) and (4).

History. — s. 20, ch. 78-414; s. 15, ch. 79-164; s. 3, ch. 87-238; s. 40, ch. 89-526; s. 7, ch. 90-208; s. 13, ch. 90-360; s. 16, ch. 91-57; s. 18, ch. 93-39; s. 32, ch. 95-228; s. 119, ch. 95-418; s. 3, ch. 96-268; s. 16, ch. 96-406; s. 1, ch. 98-158; s. 26, ch. 98-403; s. 16, ch. 99-2; s. 8, ch. 99-193; s. 10, ch. 99-284; s. 17, ch. 2000-139; s. 2, ch. 2005-213; s. 24, ch. 2005-236; s. 4, ch. 2005-239; s. 12, ch. 2008-4; s. 1, ch. 2010-75; s. 5, ch. 2022-195.

39.0133 Court and witness fees.

History. — s. 20, ch. 78-414; s. 27, ch. 98-403.

39.0134 Appointed counsel; compensation.

(1) If counsel is entitled to receive compensation for representation pursuant to a court appointment in a dependency proceeding or a termination of parental rights proceeding pursuant to this chapter, compensation shall be paid in accordance with s. 27.5304. The state may acquire and enforce a lien upon court-ordered payment of attorney’s fees and costs in the same manner prescribed in s. 938.29.

(2)(

a) A parent whose child is dependent, regardless of whether adjudication was withheld, or whose parental rights are terminated and who has received the assistance of the office of criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, or any other court-appointed attorney, or who has received due process services after being found indigent for costs, shall be liable for payment of the assessed application fee under s. 57.082, together with reasonable attorney’s fees and costs as determined by the court.

History. — s. 12, ch. 84-311; s. 9, ch. 87-289; s. 28, ch. 98-403; s. 9, ch. 99-193; s. 57, ch. 2003-402; s. 36, ch. 2004-265; s. 19, ch. 2010-162; s. 2, ch. 2016-10.

39.0135 Operations and Maintenance Trust Fund.

History. — s. 87, ch. 86-220; s. 10, ch. 90-306; s. 16, ch. 96-418; s. 167, ch. 97-101; s. 29, ch. 98-403.

39.0136 Time limitations; continuances.

(1) The Legislature finds that time is of the essence for establishing permanency for a child in the dependency system. Time limitations are a right of the child which may not be waived, extended, or continued at the request of any party except as provided in this section.

(2)(

a) All parties and the court must work together to ensure that permanency is achieved as soon as possible for every child through timely performance of their responsibilities under this chapter.

(3) The time limitations in this

chapter do not include:

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), in order to expedite permanency for a child, the total time allowed for continuances or extensions of time, including continuances or extensions by the court on its own motion, may not exceed 60 days within any 12-month period for proceedings conducted under this chapter. A continuance or extension of time may be granted only for extraordinary circumstances in which it is necessary to preserve the constitutional rights of a party or if substantial evidence exists to demonstrate that without granting a continuance or extension of time the child’s best interests will be harmed.

(5) Notwithstanding subsection (3), a continuance or an extension of time is limited to the number of days absolutely necessary to complete a necessary task in order to preserve the rights of a party or the best interests of a child.

History. — s. 4, ch. 2006-86; s. 2, ch. 2019-128.

39.0137 Federal law; rulemaking authority.

(1) This

chapter does not supersede the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. ss. 1901 et seq.; the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-382, as amended; the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. ss. 3901 et seq.; or the implementing regulations for such acts.

(2) The department is encouraged to enter into agreements with recognized American Indian tribes in order to facilitate the implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

(3) The department shall ensure that the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is observed in cases where a parent, legal custodian, or caregiver responsible for a child’s welfare, by virtue of his or her service, is unable to take custody of the child or appear before the court in person.

History. — s. 5, ch. 2006-86; s. 20, ch. 2012-116; s. 2, ch. 2020-65.

39.01375 Best interest determination for placement.

(1) The child’s age.

(2) The physical, mental, and emotional health benefits to the child by remaining in his or her current placement or moving to the proposed placement.

(3) The stability and longevity of the child’s current placement.

(4) The established bonded relationship between the child and the current or proposed caregiver.

(5) The reasonable preference of the child, if the child is of a sufficient age and capacity to express a preference.

(6) The recommendation of the child’s current caregiver, if applicable.

(7) The recommendation of the child’s guardian ad litem, if one has been appointed.

(8) The child’s previous and current relationship with a sibling and if the change of legal or physical custody or placement will separate or reunite siblings, evaluated in accordance with s. 39.4024.

(9) The likelihood of the child attaining permanency in the current or proposed placement.

(10) The likelihood the child will be required to change schools or child care placement, the impact of such change on the child, and the parties’ recommendations as to the timing of the change, including an education transition plan required under s. 39.4023.

(11) The child’s receipt of medical, behavioral health, dental, or other treatment services in the current placement; the availability of such services and the degree to which they meet the child’s needs; and whether the child will be able to continue to receive services from the same providers and the relative importance of such continuity of care.

(12) The allegations of any abuse, abandonment, or neglect, including sexual abuse and human trafficking history, which caused the child to be placed in out-of-home care and any history of additional allegations of abuse, abandonment, or neglect.

(13) The likely impact on activities that are important to the child and the ability of the child to continue such activities in the proposed placement.

(14) The likely impact on the child’s access to education, Medicaid, and independent living benefits if moved to the proposed placement.

(15) Any other relevant factor.

History. — s. 2, ch. 2021-169.

39.0138 Criminal history and other records checks; limit on placement of a child.

(1) The department shall conduct a records check through the State Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) and a local and statewide criminal history records check on all persons, including parents, being considered by the department for placement of a child under this chapter, including all nonrelative placement decisions, and all members of the household, 12 years of age and older, of the person being considered.

For purposes of this section, a criminal history records check may include, but is not limited to, submission of fingerprints to the Department of Law Enforcement for processing and forwarding to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for state and national criminal history information, and local criminal records checks through local law enforcement agencies of all household members 18 years of age and older and other visitors to the home.

An out-of-state criminal history records check must be initiated for any person 18 years of age or older who resided in another state if that state allows the release of such records. The department must complete the records check within 14 business days after receiving a person’s criminal history results, unless additional information is required to complete the processing. The department shall establish by rule standards for evaluating any information contained in the automated system relating to a person who must be screened for purposes of making a placement decision.

(2)(

a) The department shall establish rules for granting an exemption from the fingerprinting requirements under subsection (1) for a household member who has a physical, developmental, or cognitive disability that prevents that person from safely submitting fingerprints.

(3) The department may not place a child with a person other than a parent if the criminal history records check reveals that the person has been convicted of any felony that falls within any of the following categories:

(4) The department may not place a child with a person other than a parent if the criminal history records check reveals that the person has, within the previous 5 years, been convicted of a felony that falls within any of the following categories:

(5) The department may place a child in a home that otherwise meets placement requirements if a name check of state and local criminal history records systems does not disqualify the applicant and if the department submits fingerprints to the Department of Law Enforcement for forwarding to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is awaiting the results of the state and national criminal history records check.

(6) Persons with whom placement of a child is being considered or approved must disclose to the department any prior or pending local, state, or national criminal proceedings in which they are or have been involved.

(7) The department may examine the results of any criminal history records check of any person, including a parent, with whom placement of a child is being considered under this section. The complete criminal history records check must be considered when determining whether placement with the person will jeopardize the safety of the child being placed.

(8)(

a) The court may review a decision of the department to grant or deny the placement of a child based upon information from the criminal history records check. The review may be upon the motion of any party, the request of any person who has been denied a placement by the department, or on the court’s own motion. The court shall prepare written findings to support its decision in this matter.

History. — s. 6, ch. 2006-86; s. 3, ch. 2008-245; s. 3, ch. 2012-178; s. 2, ch. 2018-103; s. 3, ch. 2020-138.

39.0139 Visitation or other contact; restrictions.

(1) SHORT TITLE. —

(2) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. —

(3) PRESUMPTION OF DETRIMENT. —

(4) HEARINGS. —

(5) CONDITIONS. —

(6) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS. —

History. — s. 1, ch. 2007-109; s. 1, ch. 2011-209; s. 5, ch. 2013-15; s. 37, ch. 2016-24; s. 13, ch. 2019-3.

39.0141 Missing children; report required.

History. — s. 4, ch. 2008-245.

39.0142 Notifying law enforcement officers of parent or caregiver names.

(1) If a law enforcement officer has an interaction with a parent or caregiver as described in this

section and the interaction results in the officer having concern about a child’s health, safety, or well-being, the officer shall report relevant details of the interaction to the central abuse hotline immediately after the interaction even if the requirements of s. 39.201, relating to a person having actual knowledge or suspicion of abuse, abandonment, or neglect, are not met.

(2) The central abuse hotline shall provide any relevant information to:

History. — s. 3, ch. 2020-40.

39.0143 Dually-involved children.

(1) Data on the number of children who are dually involved with both systems of care. Such children include, but are not limited to, those who are the subject of any proceeding under this

chapter and, at the same time, are under the supervision of the Department of Juvenile Justice under

chapter 985, and those children who were previously served by either the department or the Department of Juvenile Justice and come to the attention of either agency after being served.

(2) Data on the number of children who are placed in licensed care after leaving the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

(3) Information on how both departments track children who are or become dually involved.

(4) A

summary of the actions taken by both departments to better serve dually-involved children.

History. — s. 1, ch. 2022-67.

39.101 Central abuse hotline.

(1) ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION. —

(2) TIMEFRAMES FOR INITIATING INVESTIGATION. —

(3) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION AND DATA. —

(4) USE OF INFORMATION RECEIVED BY THE CENTRAL ABUSE HOTLINE. —

(5) QUALITY ASSURANCE. —

History. — s. 2, ch. 2021-170.

39.201 Required reports of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, sexual abuse of a child, and juvenile sexual abuse; required reports of death; reports involving a child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior.

(1) MANDATORY REPORTING. —

(2) EXCEPTIONS TO REPORTING. —

(3) ADDITIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES RELATED TO REPORTS. —

(4) REPORTS OF CHILD ABUSE, ABANDONMENT, OR NEGLECT BY A PARENT, LEGAL CUSTODIAN, CAREGIVER, OR OTHER PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR A CHILD’S WELFARE. —

(5) REPORTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF A CHILD OR JUVENILE SEXUAL ABUSE; REPORTS OF A CHILD WHO HAS EXHIBITED INAPPROPRIATE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR. —

(6) MANDATORY REPORTS OF A CHILD DEATH. —

History. — ss. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ch. 63-24; s. 941, ch. 71-136; ss. 1, 1A, ch. 71-97; s. 32, ch. 73-334; s. 65, ch. 74-383; s. 1, ch. 75-101; s. 1, ch. 75-185; s. 4, ch. 76-237; s. 1, ch. 77-77; s. 3, ch. 77-429; ss. 1, 2, ch. 78-322; s. 3, ch. 78-326; s. 22, ch. 78-361; s. 1, ch. 78-379; s. 181, ch. 79-164; s. 1, ch. 79-203; s. 7, ch. 84-226; s. 37, ch. 85-54; s. 68, ch. 86-163; s. 34, ch. 87-238; s. 21, ch. 88-337; s. 33, ch. 89-294; s. 6, ch. 90-50; s. 51, ch. 90-306; s. 7, ch. 91-57; s. 17, ch. 91-71; s. 6, ch. 93-25; s. 59, ch. 94-164; ss. 22, 44, ch. 95-228; s. 9, ch. 95-266; s. 51, ch. 95-267; s. 133, ch. 95-418; s. 1, ch. 96-215; s. 14, ch. 96-268; s. 14, ch. 96-402; s. 271, ch. 96-406; s. 1041, ch. 97-103; s. 43, ch. 97-264; s. 257, ch. 98-166; s. 31, ch. 98-403; s. 4, ch. 99-168; s. 10, ch. 99-193; s. 41, ch. 2000-139; s. 3, ch. 2000-188; s. 1, ch. 2000-217; s. 1, ch. 2001-53; s. 1, ch. 2003-127; s. 7, ch. 2006-86; s. 2, ch. 2008-90; s. 5, ch. 2008-245; s. 3, ch. 2009-43; s. 1, ch. 2012-155; s. 4, ch. 2012-178; s. 6, ch. 2013-15; s. 4, ch. 2013-219; ss. 5, 50, ch. 2014-224; s. 1, ch. 2016-58; s. 1, ch. 2016-238; s. 2, ch. 2019-142; s. 3, ch. 2021-170.

39.2015 Critical incident rapid response team; sexual abuse report investigations.

(1) As part of the department’s quality assurance program, the department shall provide an immediate multiagency investigation of certain child deaths or other serious incidents. The purpose of such investigation is to identify root causes and rapidly determine the need to change policies and practices related to child protection and child welfare.

(2) An immediate onsite investigation conducted by a critical incident rapid response team is required for all child deaths reported to the department if the child or another child in his or her family was the subject of a verified report of suspected abuse or neglect during the previous 12 months. The secretary may direct an immediate investigation for other cases involving death or serious injury to a child, including, but not limited to, a death or serious injury occurring during an open investigation.

(3) Each investigation shall be conducted by a multiagency team of at least five professionals with expertise in child protection, child welfare, and organizational management. The team may consist of employees of the department, community-based care lead agencies, Children’s Medical Services, and community-based care provider organizations; faculty from the institute consisting of public and private universities offering degrees in social work established pursuant to s. 1004.615; or any other person with the required expertise.

The team shall include, at a minimum, a Child Protection Team medical director, a representative from a child advocacy center under s. 39.3035 who has specialized training in sexual abuse of a child if sexual abuse of the child who is the subject of the report is alleged, or a combination of such specialists if deemed appropriate. The majority of the team must reside in judicial circuits outside the location of the incident. The secretary shall appoint a team leader for each group assigned to an investigation.

(4) An investigation shall be initiated as soon as possible, but not later than 2 business days after the case is reported to the department. A preliminary report on each case shall be provided to the secretary no later than 30 days after the investigation begins.

(5) Each member of the team is authorized to access all information in the case file.

(6) All employees of the department or other state agencies and all personnel from community-based care lead agencies and community-based care lead agency subcontractors must cooperate with the investigation by participating in interviews and timely responding to any requests for information. The members of the team may only access the records and information of contracted provider organizations which are available to the department by law.

(7) The secretary shall develop cooperative agreements with other entities and organizations as necessary to facilitate the work required under this section.

(8) The members of the team may be reimbursed by the department for per diem, mileage, and other reasonable expenses as provided in s. 112.061. The department may also reimburse the team member’s employer for the associated salary and benefits during the time the team member is fulfilling the duties required under this section.

(9) Upon completion of the investigation, the department shall make the team’s final report, excluding any confidential information, available on its website.

(10) The secretary, in conjunction with the institute established pursuant to s. 1004.615, shall develop guidelines for investigations conducted by critical incident rapid response teams and provide training to team members. Such guidelines must direct the teams in the conduct of a root-cause analysis that identifies, classifies, and attributes responsibility for both direct and latent causes for the death or other incident, including organizational factors, preconditions, and specific acts or omissions resulting from either error or a violation of procedures. The department shall ensure that each team member receives training on the guidelines before conducting an investigation.

(11) The department shall conduct investigations of reports of sexual abuse of children in out-of-home care. The purpose of such investigations is to identify root causes and to rapidly determine the need to change policies and practices related to preventing and addressing sexual abuse of children in out-of-home care.

(12) The secretary shall appoint an advisory committee made up of experts in child protection and child welfare, including, but not limited to, the Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection under the Department of Health, a representative from the institute established under s. 1004.615, an expert in organizational management, and an attorney with experience in child welfare, to conduct an independent review of investigative reports from the critical incident rapid response teams and sexual abuse report investigations and to make recommendations to improve policies and practices related to child protection and child welfare services.

The advisory committee shall meet at least once each quarter to review the critical incident rapid response teams’ reports and sexual abuse report investigations and shall submit quarterly reports to the secretary which include findings and recommendations. The secretary shall submit each report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

History. — s. 6, ch. 2014-224; s. 1, ch. 2015-79; s. 1, ch. 2015-177; s. 14, ch. 2019-3; s. 4, ch. 2021-170.

39.202 Confidentiality of reports and records in cases of child abuse or neglect; exception.

(1) In order to protect the rights of the child and the child’s parents or other persons responsible for the child’s welfare, all records held by the department concerning reports of child abandonment, abuse, or neglect, including reports made to the central abuse hotline and all records generated as a result of such reports, shall be confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and shall not be disclosed except as specifically authorized by this chapter. Such exemption from s. 119.07(1) applies to information in the possession of those entities granted access as set forth in this section.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (4), access to such records, excluding the name of, or other identifying information with respect to, the reporter which shall be released only as provided in subsection (5), shall be granted only to the following persons, officials, and agencies:

(3) The department may release to professional persons such information as is necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of the child or the person perpetrating the abuse or neglect.

(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when a child under investigation or supervision of the department or its contracted service providers is determined to be missing, the following shall apply:

(5) The department may not release the name of, or other identifying information with respect to, any person reporting child abuse, abandonment, or neglect to any person other than employees of the department responsible for child protective services, the central abuse hotline, law enforcement, the Child Protection Team, or the appropriate state attorney, without the written consent of the person reporting.

This does not prohibit the subpoenaing of a person reporting child abuse, abandonment, or neglect when deemed necessary by the court, the state attorney, or the department, provided the fact that such person made the report is not disclosed. Any person who reports a case of child abuse or neglect may, at the time he or she makes the report, request that the department notify him or her that a child protective investigation occurred as a result of the report. Any person specifically listed in s. 39.201(1) who makes a report in his or her official capacity may also request a written

summary of the outcome of the investigation. The department shall mail such a notice to the reporter within 10 days after completing the child protective investigation.

(6) All records and reports of the Child Protection Team of the Department of Health are confidential and exempt from the provisions of ss. 119.07(1) and 456.057, and shall not be disclosed, except, upon request, to the state attorney, law enforcement, the department, and necessary professionals, in furtherance of the treatment or additional evaluative needs of the child, by order of the court, or to health plan payors, limited to that information used for insurance reimbursement purposes.

(7) Custodians of records made confidential and exempt under this

section must grant access to such records within 7 business days after such records are requested by a legislative committee under s. 11.143, if requested within that timeframe.

(8) The department shall make and keep reports and records of all cases under this

chapter and shall preserve the records pertaining to a child and family until the child who is the subject of the record is 30 years of age, and may then destroy the records. Within 90 days after the child leaves the department’s custody, the department shall give a notice to the person having legal custody of the child, or to the young adult who was in the department’s custody, which specifies how the records may be obtained.

(9) A person who knowingly or willfully makes public or discloses to any unauthorized person any confidential information contained in the central abuse hotline is subject to the penalty provisions of s. 39.205. This notice shall be prominently displayed on the first sheet of any documents released pursuant to this section.

(10) The expansion of the public records exemption under this

section to include other identifying information with respect to any person reporting child abuse, abandonment, or neglect is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2024, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. If the expansion of the exemption is not saved from repeal, this

section shall revert to that in existence on June 30, 2019, except that any other amendments made to this section, other than by this act, are preserved and continue to operate to the extent that such amendments are not dependent upon the portions of text that expire under this subsection.

History. — ss. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ch. 63-24; s. 941, ch. 71-136; ss. 1, 1A, ch. 71-97; s. 32, ch. 73-334; s. 65, ch. 74-383; s. 1, ch. 75-101; s. 1, ch. 75-185; s. 4, ch. 76-237; s. 1, ch. 77-77; s. 3, ch. 77-429; ss. 1, 2, ch. 78-322; s. 3, ch. 78-326; s. 22, ch. 78-361; s. 1, ch. 78-379; s. 181, ch. 79-164; s. 1, ch. 79-203; s. 488, ch. 81-259; s. 11, ch. 84-226; s. 39, ch. 85-54; s. 14, ch. 85-224; s. 36, ch. 87-238; s. 2, ch. 88-80; s. 8, ch. 88-219; s. 26, ch. 88-337; s. 5, ch. 89-170; s. 5, ch. 89-278; s. 36, ch. 89-294; s. 2, ch. 89-535; s. 8, ch. 90-50; s. 7, ch. 90-208; s. 54, ch. 90-306; s. 9, ch. 91-57; s. 20, ch. 91-71; ss. 43, 48, ch. 92-58; s. 32, ch. 93-39; s. 16, ch. 93-214; s. 58, ch. 94-218; ss. 25, 46, ch. 95-228; s. 28, ch. 95-267; s. 15, ch. 96-402; s. 275, ch. 96-406; s. 1044, ch. 97-103; s. 15, ch. 97-276; s. 3, ch. 97-299; s. 15, ch. 98-137; s. 32, ch. 98-166; s. 3, ch. 98-255; s. 45, ch. 98-280; s. 32, ch. 98-403; s. 5, ch. 99-168; s. 11, ch. 99-193; s. 1, ch. 99-369; s. 18, ch. 2000-139; s. 2, ch. 2000-217; s. 6, ch. 2000-263; s. 51, ch. 2000-349; s. 12, ch. 2001-60; s. 27, ch. 2001-266; s. 2, ch. 2003-146; s. 1, ch. 2005-173; s. 1, ch. 2005-213; s. 6, ch. 2006-194; s. 3, ch. 2006-227; s. 2, ch. 2009-34; s. 2, ch. 2009-35; s. 4, ch. 2009-43; s. 2, ch. 2010-210; s. 2, ch. 2016-58; s. 2, ch. 2016-238; s. 4, ch. 2017-151; s. 15, ch. 2019-3; s. 1, ch. 2019-49; s. 1, ch. 2020-4; s. 3, ch. 2021-10; s. 5, ch. 2021-170.

39.2021 Release of confidential information.

(1) Any person or organization, including the Department of Children and Families, may petition the court for an order making public the records of the Department of Children and Families which pertain to investigations of alleged abuse, abandonment, or neglect of a child. The court shall determine whether good cause exists for public access to the records sought or a portion thereof.

In making this determination, the court shall balance the best interests of the child who is the focus of the investigation and the interest of that child’s siblings, together with the privacy rights of other persons identified in the reports, against the public interest. The public interest in access to such records is reflected in s. 119.01(1), and includes the need for citizens to know of and adequately evaluate the actions of the Department of Children and Families and the court system in providing children of this state with the protections enumerated in s. 39.001.

However, this subsection does not contravene s. 39.202, which protects the name of any person reporting the abuse, abandonment, or neglect of a child.

(2) In cases involving serious bodily injury to a child, the Department of Children and Families may petition the court for an order for the immediate public release of records of the department which pertain to the protective investigation. The petition must be personally served upon the child, the child’s parent or guardian, and any person named as an alleged perpetrator in the report of abuse, abandonment, or neglect.

The court must determine whether good cause exists for the public release of the records sought no later than 24 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after the date the department filed the petition with the court. If the court does not grant or deny the petition within the 24-hour time period, the department may release to the public

summary information including:

(3) When the court determines that good cause for public access exists, the court shall direct that the department redact the name of, and other identifying information with respect to, any person identified in any protective investigation report until such time as the court finds that there is probable cause to believe that the person identified committed

an act of alleged abuse, abandonment, or neglect.

History. — s. 1, ch. 2004-335; s. 12, ch. 2014-19.

39.2022 Public disclosure of reported child deaths.

(1) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide prompt disclosure of the basic facts of all deaths of children from birth through 18 years of age which occur in this state and which are reported to the department’s central abuse hotline. Disclosure shall be posted on the department’s public website. This

section does not limit the public access to records under any other provision of law.

(2) Notwithstanding s. 39.202, if a child death is reported to the central abuse hotline, the department shall post on its website all of the following:

History. — s. 7, ch. 2014-224.

39.203 Immunity from liability in cases of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect.

(1)(

a) Any person, official, or institution participating in good faith in any act authorized or required by this chapter, or reporting in good faith any instance of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect to the department or any law enforcement agency, shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability which might otherwise result by reason of such action.

(2)(

a) No resident or employee of a facility serving children may be subjected to reprisal or discharge because of his or her actions in reporting abuse, abandonment, or neglect pursuant to the requirements of this section.

History. — ss. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ch. 63-24; s. 941, ch. 71-136; ss. 1, 1A, ch. 71-97; s. 32, ch. 73-334; s. 65, ch. 74-383; s. 1, ch. 75-101; s. 1, ch. 75-185; s. 4, ch. 76-237; s. 1, ch. 77-77; s. 3, ch. 77-429; ss. 1, 2, ch. 78-322; s. 3, ch. 78-326; s. 22, ch. 78-361; s. 1, ch. 78-379; s. 181, ch. 79-164; s. 1, ch. 79-203; s. 27, ch. 88-337; s. 55, ch. 90-306; s. 63, ch. 94-164; s. 73, ch. 97-103; s. 33, ch. 98-403; s. 12, ch. 99-193.

39.204 Abrogation of privileged communications in cases involving child abuse, abandonment, or neglect.

History. — ss. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ch. 63-24; s. 941, ch. 71-136; ss. 1, 1A, ch. 71-97; s. 32, ch. 73-334; s. 65, ch. 74-383; s. 1, ch. 75-101; s. 1, ch. 75-185; s. 4, ch. 76-237; s. 1, ch. 77-77; s. 3, ch. 77-429; ss. 1, 2, ch. 78-322; s. 3, ch. 78-326; s. 22, ch. 78-361; s. 1, ch. 78-379; s. 181, ch. 79-164; s. 1, ch. 79-203; s. 2, ch. 85-28; s. 64, ch. 94-164; s. 74, ch. 97-103; s. 34, ch. 98-403; s. 3, ch. 2002-174.

39.205 Penalties relating to reporting of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect.

(1) A person who knowingly and willfully fails to report to the central abuse hotline known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or who knowingly and willfully prevents another person from doing so, commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. A judge subject to discipline pursuant to s. 12, Art. V of the State Constitution may not be subject to criminal prosecution when the information was received in the course of official duties.

(2) Unless the court finds that the person is a victim of domestic violence or that other mitigating circumstances exist, a person who is 18 years of age or older and lives in the same house or living unit as a child who is known or suspected to be a victim of child abuse, neglect of a child, or aggravated child abuse, and knowingly and willfully fails to report the child abuse commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

(3) Any Florida College System institution, state university, or nonpublic college, university, or school, as defined in s. 1000.21 or s. 1005.02, whose administrators, upon receiving information from faculty, staff, or other institution employees, knowingly and willfully fail to report to the central abuse hotline known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect committed on the property of the university, college, or school, or during an event or function sponsored by the university, college, or school, or who knowingly and willfully prevent another person from doing so, shall be subject to fines of $1 million for each such failure.

(4) Any Florida College System institution, state university, or nonpublic college, university, or school, as defined in s. 1000.21 or s. 1005.02, whose law enforcement agency fails to report to the central abuse hotline known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect committed on the property of the university, college, or school or during an event or function sponsored by the university, college, or school, shall be subject to fines of $1 million for each such failure, assessed in the same manner as specified in subsection (3).

(5) Any Florida College System institution, state university, or nonpublic college, university, or school, as defined in s. 1000.21 or s. 1005.02, shall have the right to challenge the determination that the institution acted knowingly and willfully under subsection (3) or subsection (4) in an administrative hearing pursuant to s. 120.57; however, if it is found that actual knowledge and information of known or suspected child abuse was in fact received by the institution’s administrators and was not reported, a presumption of a knowing and willful act will be established.

(6) A person who knowingly and willfully makes public or discloses any confidential information contained in the central abuse hotline or in the records of any child abuse, abandonment, or neglect case, except as provided in this chapter, commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(7) The department shall establish procedures for determining whether a false report of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect has been made and for submitting all identifying information relating to such a report to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

(8) If the department or its authorized agent has determined during the course of its investigation that a report is a false report, the department may discontinue all investigative activities and shall, with the consent of the alleged perpetrator, refer the report to the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction for an investigation to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to refer the case for prosecution for filing a false report as defined in s. 39.01.

During the pendency of the investigation, the department must notify the local law enforcement agency of, and the local law enforcement agency must respond to, all subsequent reports concerning children in that same family in accordance with s. 39.301. If the law enforcement agency believes that there are indicators of abuse, abandonment, or neglect, it must immediately notify the department, which must ensure the safety of the children. If the law enforcement agency finds sufficient evidence for prosecution for filing a false report, it must refer the case to the appropriate state attorney for prosecution.

(9) A person who knowingly and willfully makes a false report of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or who advises another to make a false report, is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Anyone making a report who is acting in good faith is immune from any liability under this subsection.

(10) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to implement this

section as it relates to Florida College System institutions; the Commission for Independent Education shall adopt rules to implement this

section as it relates to nonpublic colleges, universities, and schools; and the Board of Governors shall adopt regulations to implement this

section as it relates to state universities.

(11) This

section may not be construed to remove or reduce the requirement of any person, including, but not limited to, any employee of a school readiness program provider determined to be eligible under s. 1002.88; a private prekindergarten provider or a public school prekindergarten provider, as those terms are defined in s. 1002.51; a public K-12 school as described in s. 1000.04; a private school as defined in s. 1002.01; a Florida College System institution or a state university, as those terms are defined in s. 1000.21; a college as defined in s. 1005.02; or a school as defined in s. 1005.02, to directly report a known or suspected case of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect or the sexual abuse of a child to the department’s central abuse hotline.

A person required to report to the central abuse hotline is not relieved of such obligation by notifying his or her supervisor.

History. — ss. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ch. 63-24; s. 941, ch. 71-136; ss. 1, 1A, ch. 71-97; s. 32, ch. 73-334; s. 65, ch. 74-383; s. 1, ch. 75-101; s. 1, ch. 75-185; s. 4, ch. 76-237; s. 1, ch. 77-77; s. 3, ch. 77-429; ss. 1, 2, ch. 78-322; s. 3, ch. 78-326; s. 22, ch. 78-361; s. 1, ch. 78-379; s. 181, ch. 79-164; s. 1, ch. 79-203; s. 28, ch. 88-337; s. 56, ch. 90-306; s. 10, ch. 91-57; s. 21, ch. 91-71; s. 251, ch. 91-224; s. 10, ch. 93-25; s. 276, ch. 96-406; s. 4, ch. 98-111; s. 35, ch. 98-403; s. 6, ch. 99-168; s. 3, ch. 2000-217; s. 4, ch. 2002-70; s. 29, ch. 2006-86; s. 25, ch. 2008-245; s. 2, ch. 2012-155; s. 5, ch. 2012-178; s. 3, ch. 2013-51; s. 6, ch. 2021-170; s. 2, ch. 2022-67.

39.206 Administrative fines for false report of abuse, abandonment, or neglect of a child; civil damages.

(1) In addition to any other penalty authorized by this section,

chapter 120, or other law, the department may impose a fine, not to exceed $10,000 for each violation, upon a person who knowingly and willfully makes a false report of abuse, abandonment, or neglect of a child, or a person who counsels another to make a false report.

(2) If the department alleges that a person has filed a false report with the central abuse hotline, the department must file a Notice of Intent which alleges the name, age, and address of the individual, the facts constituting the allegation that the individual made a false report, and the administrative fine the department proposes to impose on the person. Each time that a false report is made constitutes a separate violation.

(3) The Notice of Intent to impose the administrative fine must be served upon the person alleged to have filed the false report and the person’s legal counsel, if any. Such Notice of Intent must be given by certified mail, return receipt requested.

(4) Any person alleged to have filed the false report is entitled to an administrative hearing, pursuant to

chapter 120, before the imposition of the fine becomes final. The person must request an administrative hearing within 60 days after receipt of the Notice of Intent by filing a request with the department. Failure to request an administrative hearing within 60 days after receipt of the Notice of Intent constitutes a waiver of the right to a hearing, making the administrative fine final.

(5) At the administrative hearing, the department must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the person filed a false report with the central abuse hotline. The administrative hearing officer shall advise any person against whom a fine may be imposed of that person’s right to be represented by counsel at the administrative hearing.

(6) In determining the amount of fine to be imposed, if any, the following factors shall be considered:

(7) A decision by the department, following the administrative hearing, to impose an administrative fine for filing a false report constitutes final agency action within the meaning of

chapter 120. Notice of the imposition of the administrative fine must be served upon the person and the person’s legal counsel, by certified mail, return receipt requested, and must state that the person may seek judicial review of the administrative fine pursuant to s. 120.68.

(8) All amounts collected under this

section shall be deposited into an appropriate trust fund of the department.

(9) A person who is determined to have filed a false report of abuse, abandonment, or neglect is not entitled to confidentiality. Subsequent to the conclusion of all administrative or other judicial proceedings concerning the filing of a false report, the name of the false reporter and the nature of the false report shall be made public, pursuant to s. 119.01(1). Such information shall be admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding.

(10) A person who knowingly and willfully makes a false report of abuse, abandonment, or neglect of a child, or a person who counsels another to make a false report may be civilly liable for damages suffered, including reasonable attorney fees and costs, as a result of the filing of the false report.

If the name of the person who filed the false report or counseled another to do so has not been disclosed under subsection (9), the department as custodian of the records may be named as a party in the suit until the dependency court determines in a written order upon an in camera inspection of the records and report that there is a reasonable basis for believing that the report was false and that the identity of the reporter may be disclosed for the purpose of proceeding with a lawsuit for civil damages resulting from the filing of the false report.

The alleged perpetrator may submit witness affidavits to assist the court in making this initial determination.

(11) Any person making a report who is acting in good faith is immune from any liability under this

section and shall continue to be entitled to have the confidentiality of their identity maintained.

History. — s. 65, ch. 94-164; s. 5, ch. 98-111; s. 36, ch. 98-403; s. 13, ch. 99-193.

39.208 Cross-reporting child abuse, abandonment, or neglect and animal cruelty.

(1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. —

(2) RESPONSIBILITIES OF CHILD PROTECTIVE INVESTIGATORS. —

(3) RESPONSIBILITIES OF ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS. —

(4) PENALTIES. —

(5) TRAINING. —

(6) RULEMAKING. —

History. — s. 7, ch. 2021-170.

39.301 Initiation of protective investigations.

(1)(

a) Upon receiving a report of known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or that a child is in need of supervision and care and has no parent, legal custodian, or responsible adult relative immediately known and available to provide supervision and care, the central abuse hotline shall determine if the report requires an immediate onsite protective investigation.

For reports requiring an immediate onsite protective investigation, the central abuse hotline shall immediately notify the department’s designated district staff responsible for protective investigations to ensure that an onsite investigation is promptly initiated. For reports not requiring an immediate onsite protective investigation, the central abuse hotline shall notify the department’s designated district staff responsible for protective investigations in sufficient time to allow for an investigation.

At the time of notification, the central abuse hotline shall also provide information to district staff on any previous report concerning a subject of the present report or any pertinent information relative to the present report or any noted earlier reports.

(2)(

a) The department shall immediately forward allegations of criminal conduct to the municipal or county law enforcement agency of the municipality or county in which the alleged conduct has occurred.

(3) The department shall maintain a single, standard electronic child welfare case file for each child whose report is accepted by the central abuse hotline for investigation. Such file must contain information concerning all reports received by the abuse hotline concerning that child and all services received by that child and family. The file must be made available to any department staff, agent of the department, or contract provider given responsibility for conducting a protective investigation.

(4) To the extent practical, all protective investigations involving a child shall be conducted or the work supervised by a single individual in order for there to be broad knowledge and understanding of the child’s history. When a new investigator is assigned to investigate a second and subsequent report involving a child, a multidisciplinary staffing shall be conducted which includes new and prior investigators, their supervisors, and appropriate private providers in order to ensure that, to the extent possible, there is coordination among all parties.

The department shall establish an internal operating procedure that ensures that all required investigatory activities, including a review of the child’s complete investigative and protective services history, are completed by the investigator, reviewed by the supervisor in a timely manner, and signed and dated by both the investigator and the supervisor.

(5)(

a) Upon commencing an investigation under this part, the child protective investigator shall inform any subject of the investigation of the following:

(6) Upon commencing an investigation under this part, if a report was received from a reporter under s. 39.201(1)(a)2., the protective investigator must provide his or her contact information to the reporter within 24 hours after being assigned to the investigation. The investigator must also advise the reporter that he or she may provide a written

summary of the report made to the central abuse hotline to the investigator which shall become a part of the electronic child welfare case file.

(7) An assessment of safety and the perceived needs for the child and family shall be conducted in a manner that is sensitive to the social, economic, and cultural environment of the family. This assessment must include a face-to-face interview with the child, other siblings, parents, and other adults in the household and an onsite assessment of the child’s residence.

(8) Protective investigations shall be performed by the department or its agent.

(9)(

a) For each report received from the central abuse hotline and accepted for investigation, the department or the sheriff providing child protective investigative services under s. 39.3065, shall perform the following child protective investigation activities to determine child safety:

(10)(

a) The department’s training program for staff responsible for responding to reports accepted by the central abuse hotline must also ensure that child protective responders:

(11) The department shall incorporate into its quality assurance program the monitoring of reports that receive a child protective investigation to determine the quality and timeliness of safety assessments, engagements with families, teamwork with other experts and professionals, and appropriate investigative activities that are uniquely tailored to the safety factors associated with each child and family.

(12) If the department or its agent is denied reasonable access to a child by the parents, legal custodians, or caregivers and the department deems that the best interests of the child so require, it shall seek an appropriate court order or other legal authority before examining and interviewing the child.

(13) Onsite visits and face-to-face interviews with the child or family shall be unannounced unless it is determined by the department or its agent or contract provider that such unannounced visit would threaten the safety of the child.

(14)(

a) If the department or its agent determines that a child requires immediate or long-term protection through medical or other health care or homemaker care, day care, protective supervision, or other services to stabilize the home environment, including intensive family preservation services through the Intensive Crisis Counseling Program, such services shall first be offered for voluntary acceptance unless:

(15) When a child is taken into custody pursuant to this section, the authorized agent of the department shall request that the child’s parent, caregiver, or legal custodian disclose the names, relationships, and addresses of all parents and prospective parents and all next of kin, so far as are known.

(16) The department shall complete its protective investigation within 60 days after receiving the initial report, unless:

(17) Immediately upon learning during the course of an investigation that:

(18) In a child protective investigation or a criminal investigation, when the initial interview with the child is conducted at school, the department or the law enforcement agency may allow, notwithstanding s. 39.0132(4), a school staff member who is known by the child to be present during the initial interview if:

(19) When a law enforcement agency conducts a criminal investigation into allegations of child abuse, neglect, or abandonment, photographs documenting the abuse or neglect shall be taken when appropriate.

(20) Within 15 days after the case is reported to him or her pursuant to this chapter, the state attorney shall report his or her findings to the department and shall include in such report a determination of whether or not prosecution is justified and appropriate in view of the circumstances of the specific case.

(21) When an investigation is closed and a person is not identified as a caregiver responsible for the abuse, neglect, or abandonment alleged in the report, the fact that the person is named in some capacity in the report may not be used in any way to adversely affect the interests of that person. This prohibition applies to any use of the information in employment screening, licensing, child placement, adoption, or any other decisions by a private adoption agency or a state agency or its contracted providers, except that a previous report may be used to determine whether a child is safe and what the known risk is to the child at any stage of a child protection proceeding.

(22) If, after having been notified of the requirement to report a change in residence or location of the child to the protective investigator, a parent or legal custodian causes the child to move, or allows the child to be moved, to a different residence or location, or if the child leaves the residence on his or her own accord and the parent or legal custodian does not notify the protective investigator of the move within 2 business days, the child may be considered to be a missing child for the purposes of filing a report with a law enforcement agency under s. 937.021.

(23) If, at any time during a child protective investigation, a child is born into a family under investigation or a child moves into the home under investigation, the child protective investigator shall add the child to the investigation and assess the child’s safety pursuant to subsection (7) and paragraph (9)(a).

(24) At the beginning of and throughout an investigation of an allegation of sexual abuse of a child placed in out-of-home care, the child protective investigator must assess and take appropriate protective actions to address the safety of other children in the out-of-home placement, or who are accessible to the alleged perpetrator, who are not the subject of the allegation.

History. — s. 38, ch. 98-403; s. 7, ch. 99-168; s. 14, ch. 99-193; s. 4, ch. 2000-217; s. 2, ch. 2001-50; s. 2, ch. 2003-127; s. 2, ch. 2005-173; s. 8, ch. 2006-86; s. 1, ch. 2006-306; s. 6, ch. 2008-245; s. 5, ch. 2009-43; s. 42, ch. 2011-213; s. 6, ch. 2012-178; s. 8, ch. 2014-224; s. 5, ch. 2015-177; s. 5, ch. 2017-151; s. 16, ch. 2019-3; s. 4, ch. 2020-138; s. 8, ch. 2021-170.

39.302 Protective investigations of institutional child abuse, abandonment, or neglect.

(1) The department shall conduct a child protective investigation of each report of institutional child abuse, abandonment, or neglect. Upon receipt of a report that alleges that an employee or agent of the department, or any other entity or person covered by s. 39.01(36) or (54), acting in an official capacity, has committed

an act of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, the department shall initiate a child protective investigation within the timeframe established under s. 39.101(2) and notify the appropriate state attorney, law enforcement agency, and licensing agency, which shall immediately conduct a joint investigation, unless independent investigations are more feasible. When conducting investigations or having face-to-face interviews with the child, investigation visits shall be unannounced unless it is determined by the department or its agent that unannounced visits threaten the safety of the child.

If a facility is exempt from licensing, the department shall inform the owner or operator of the facility of the report. Each agency conducting a joint investigation is entitled to full access to the information gathered by the department in the course of the investigation. A protective investigation must include an interview with the child’s parent or legal guardian. The department shall make a full written report to the state attorney within 3 business days after making the oral report. A criminal investigation shall be coordinated, whenever possible, with the child protective investigation of the department.

Any interested person who has information regarding the offenses described in this subsection may forward a statement to the state attorney as to whether prosecution is warranted and appropriate. Within 15 days after the completion of the investigation, the state attorney shall report the findings to the department and shall include in the report a determination of whether or not prosecution is justified and appropriate in view of the circumstances of the specific case.

(2)(

a) If in the course of the child protective investigation, the department finds that a subject of a report, by continued contact with children in care, constitutes a threatened harm to the physical health, mental health, or welfare of the children, the department may restrict a subject’s access to the children pending the outcome of the investigation. The department or its agent shall employ the least restrictive means necessary to safeguard the physical health, mental health, and welfare of the children in care.

This authority shall apply only to child protective investigations in which there is some evidence that child abuse, abandonment, or neglect has occurred. A subject of a report whose access to children in care has been restricted is entitled to petition the circuit court for judicial review. The court shall enter written findings of fact based upon the preponderance of evidence that child abuse, abandonment, or neglect did occur and that the department’s restrictive action against a subject of the report was justified in order to safeguard the physical health, mental health, and welfare of the children in care.

The restrictive action of the department shall be effective for no more than 90 days without a judicial finding supporting the actions of the department.

(3) Pursuant to the restrictive actions described in subsection (2), in cases of institutional abuse, abandonment, or neglect in which the removal of a subject of a report will result in the closure of the facility, and when requested by the owner of the facility, the department may provide appropriate personnel to assist in maintaining the operation of the facility. The department may provide assistance when it can be demonstrated by the owner that there are no reasonable alternatives to such action.

The length of the assistance shall be agreed upon by the owner and the department; however, the assistance shall not be for longer than the course of the restrictive action imposed pursuant to subsection (2). The owner shall reimburse the department for the assistance of personnel provided.

(4) The department shall notify the Florida local advocacy council in the appropriate district of the department as to every report of institutional child abuse, abandonment, or neglect in the district in which a client of the department is alleged or shown to have been abused, abandoned, or neglected, which notification shall be made within 48 hours after the department commences its investigation.

(5) The department shall notify the state attorney and the appropriate law enforcement agency of any other child abuse, abandonment, or neglect case in which a criminal investigation is deemed appropriate by the department.

(6) In cases of institutional child abuse, abandonment, or neglect in which the multiplicity of reports of abuse, abandonment, or neglect or the severity of the allegations indicates the need for specialized investigation by the department in order to afford greater safeguards for the physical health, mental health, and welfare of the children in care, the department shall provide a team of persons specially trained in the areas of child abuse, abandonment, and neglect investigations, diagnosis, and treatment to assist the local office of the department in expediting its investigation and in making recommendations for restrictive actions and to assist in other ways deemed necessary by the department in order to carry out the provisions of this section.

The specially trained team shall also provide assistance to any investigation of the allegations by local law enforcement and the Department of Law Enforcement.

(7) When an investigation of institutional abuse, neglect, or abandonment is closed and a person is not identified as a caregiver responsible for the abuse, neglect, or abandonment alleged in the report, the fact that the person is named in some capacity in the report may not be used in any way to adversely affect the interests of that person. This prohibition applies to any use of the information in employment screening, licensing, child placement, adoption, or any other decisions by a private adoption agency or a state agency or its contracted providers.

History. — s. 39, ch. 98-403; s. 8, ch. 99-168; s. 15, ch. 99-193; s. 42, ch. 2000-139; s. 7, ch. 2000-263; s. 3, ch. 2003-127; s. 3, ch. 2005-173; s. 30, ch. 2006-86; s. 7, ch. 2006-194; s. 26, ch. 2008-245; s. 7, ch. 2012-178; s. 51, ch. 2014-224; s. 6, ch. 2017-151; s. 3, ch. 2018-103; s. 14, ch. 2020-138; s. 4, ch. 2021-51; s. 9, ch. 2021-170.

39.303 Child Protection Teams and sexual abuse treatment programs; services; eligible cases.

(1) The Children’s Medical Services Program in the Department of Health shall develop, maintain, and coordinate the services of one or more multidisciplinary Child Protection Teams in each of the service circuits of the Department of Children and Families. Such teams may be composed of appropriate representatives of school districts and appropriate health, mental health, social service, legal service, and law enforcement agencies.

The Department of Health and the Department of Children and Families shall maintain an interagency agreement that establishes protocols for oversight and operations of Child Protection Teams and sexual abuse treatment programs. The State Surgeon General and the Deputy Secretary for Children’s Medical Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Children and Families and the Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection, shall maintain the responsibility for the screening, employment, and, if necessary, the termination of Child Protection Team medical directors in the 15 circuits.

(2)(

a) The Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection must be a physician licensed under

chapter 458 or

chapter 459 who is a board-certified pediatrician with a subspecialty certification in child abuse from the American Board of Pediatrics. The Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection shall report directly to the Deputy Secretary for Children’s Medical Services.

(3) The Department of Health shall use and convene the Child Protection Teams to supplement the assessment and protective supervision activities of the family safety and preservation program of the Department of Children and Families. This

section does not remove or reduce the duty and responsibility of any person to report pursuant to this

chapter all suspected or actual cases of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect or sexual abuse of a child. The role of the Child Protection Teams is to support activities of the program and to provide services deemed by the Child Protection Teams to be necessary and appropriate to abused, abandoned, and neglected children upon referral. The specialized diagnostic assessment, evaluation, coordination, consultation, and other supportive services that a Child Protection Team must be capable of providing include, but are not limited to, the following:

(4) The child abuse, abandonment, and neglect reports that must be referred by the department to Child Protection Teams of the Department of Health for an assessment and other appropriate available support services as set forth in subsection (3) must include cases involving:

(5) All abuse and neglect cases transmitted for investigation to a circuit by the hotline must be simultaneously transmitted to the Child Protection Team for review. For the purpose of determining whether a face-to-face medical evaluation by a Child Protection Team is necessary, all cases transmitted to the Child Protection Team which meet the criteria in subsection (4) must be timely reviewed by:

(6) A face-to-face medical evaluation by a Child Protection Team is not necessary when:

(7) In all instances in which a Child Protection Team is providing certain services to abused, abandoned, or neglected children, other offices and units of the Department of Health, and offices and units of the Department of Children and Families, shall avoid duplicating the provision of those services.

(8) The Department of Health Child Protection Team quality assurance program and the Family Safety Program Office of the Department of Children and Families shall collaborate to ensure referrals and responses to child abuse, abandonment, and neglect reports are appropriate. Each quality assurance program shall include a review of records in which there are no findings of abuse, abandonment, or neglect, and the findings of these reviews shall be included in each department’s quality assurance reports.

(9)(

a) Children’s Medical Services shall convene a task force to develop a standardized protocol for forensic interviewing of children suspected of having been abused. The Department of Health shall provide staff to the task force as necessary. The task force shall include:

(10) The Children’s Medical Services program in the Department of Health shall develop, maintain, and coordinate the services of one or more sexual abuse treatment programs.

History. — s. 9, ch. 84-226; s. 63, ch. 85-81; s. 23, ch. 88-337; s. 53, ch. 90-306; s. 24, ch. 95-228; s. 273, ch. 96-406; s. 1043, ch. 97-103; s. 4, ch. 97-237; s. 13, ch. 98-137; s. 31, ch. 98-166; s. 40, ch. 98-403; s. 9, ch. 99-168; s. 42, ch. 99-397; s. 5, ch. 2000-217; s. 2, ch. 2000-367; s. 9, ch. 2006-86; s. 4, ch. 2008-6; s. 13, ch. 2014-19; s. 9, ch. 2014-224; s. 2, ch. 2015-177; s. 1, ch. 2017-153; s. 5, ch. 2018-106; s. 17, ch. 2019-3; s. 3, ch. 2019-142; s. 4, ch. 2020-40; s. 1, ch. 2020-133.

39.3031 Rules for implementation of s. 39.303.

History. — s. 16, ch. 98-137; s. 17, ch. 99-2; s. 43, ch. 2011-213; s. 14, ch. 2014-19; s. 7, ch. 2015-177; s. 2, ch. 2017-153; s. 18, ch. 2019-3.

39.3032 Memorandum of agreement.

History. — s. 17, ch. 98-137; s. 15, ch. 2014-19.

39.3035 Child advocacy centers; standards; state funding.

(1) Child advocacy centers are facilities that offer multidisciplinary services in a community-based, child-focused environment to children who are alleged to be victims of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect. The children served by such centers may have experienced a variety of types of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, including, but not limited to, sexual abuse or severe physical abuse. The centers bring together, often in one location, child protective investigators, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, health care professionals, and mental health professionals to provide a coordinated, comprehensive response to victims and their caregivers.

(2) In order to become eligible for a full membership in the Florida Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers, Inc., a child advocacy center in this state shall:

(3) Provide assurance that child advocacy center employees and volunteers at the center are trained and screened in accordance with s. 39.001(2).

(4) A child advocacy center within this state may not receive the funds generated pursuant to s. 938.10, state or federal funds administered by a state agency, or any other funds appropriated by the Legislature unless all of the standards of subsection (2) are met and the screening requirement of subsection (3) is met. The Florida Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers, Inc., shall be responsible for tracking and documenting compliance with subsections (2) and (3) for any of the funds it administers to member child advocacy centers.

History. — s. 41, ch. 98-403; s. 16, ch. 99-193; s. 37, ch. 2004-265; s. 6, ch. 2006-1; s. 5, ch. 2008-16; s. 16, ch. 2014-19; s. 6, ch. 2018-110; s. 19, ch. 2019-3; s. 10, ch. 2021-170.

39.304 Photographs, medical examinations, X rays, and medical treatment of abused, abandoned, or neglected child.

(1)(

a) Any person required to investigate cases of suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect may take or cause to be taken photographs of the areas of trauma visible on a child who is the subject of a report. Any Child Protection Team that examines a child who is the subject of a report must take, or cause to be taken, photographs of any areas of trauma visible on the child. Photographs of physical abuse injuries, or duplicates thereof, shall be provided to the department for inclusion in the investigative file and shall become part of that file. Photographs of sexual abuse trauma shall be made part of the Child Protection Team medical record.

(2) Consent for any medical treatment shall be obtained in the following manner.

(3) Any facility licensed under

chapter 395 shall provide to the department, its agent, or a Child Protection Team that contracts with the department any photograph or report on examinations made or X rays taken pursuant to this section, or copies thereof, for the purpose of investigation or assessment of cases of abuse, abandonment, neglect, or exploitation of children.

(4) Any photograph or report on examinations made or X rays taken pursuant to this section, or copies thereof, shall be sent to the department as soon as possible and shall be preserved in permanent form in records held by the department.

(5) The county in which the child is a resident shall bear the initial costs of the examination of the allegedly abused, abandoned, or neglected child; however, the parents or legal custodian of the child shall be required to reimburse the county for the costs of such examination, other than an initial forensic physical examination as provided in s. 960.28, and to reimburse the department for the cost of the photographs taken pursuant to this section. A medical provider may not bill a child victim, directly or indirectly, for the cost of an initial forensic physical examination.

History. — ss. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ch. 63-24; s. 941, ch. 71-136; ss. 1, 1A, ch. 71-97; s. 32, ch. 73-334; s. 65, ch. 74-383; s. 1, ch. 75-101; s. 1, ch. 75-185; s. 4, ch. 76-237; s. 1, ch. 77-77; s. 3, ch. 77-429; ss. 1, 2, ch. 78-322; s. 3, ch. 78-326; s. 22, ch. 78-361; s. 1, ch. 78-379; s. 181, ch. 79-164; s. 1, ch. 79-203; s. 75, ch. 86-220; s. 24, ch. 88-337; s. 35, ch. 89-294; s. 2, ch. 95-185; s. 133, ch. 97-101; s. 71, ch. 97-103; s. 42, ch. 98-403; s. 10, ch. 99-168; s. 17, ch. 99-193; s. 6, ch. 2000-217; s. 83, ch. 2000-318; s. 6, ch. 2009-43; s. 6, ch. 2018-106; s. 20, ch. 2019-3.

39.306 Child protective investigations; working agreements with local law enforcement.

History. — s. 44, ch. 98-403; s. 11, ch. 99-168.

39.3065 Sheriffs of certain counties to provide child protective investigative services; procedures; funding.

(1) As described in this section, the department shall, by the end of fiscal year 1999-2000, transfer all responsibility for child protective investigations for Pinellas County, Manatee County, Broward County, and Pasco County to the sheriff of that county in which the child abuse, neglect, or abandonment is alleged to have occurred. Each sheriff is responsible for the provision of all child protective investigations in his or her county. Each individual who provides these services must complete the training provided to and required of protective investigators employed by the department.

(3)(

a) Beginning in fiscal year 1999-2000, the sheriffs of Pasco County, Manatee County, Broward County, and Pinellas County have the responsibility to provide all child protective investigations in their respective counties. Beginning in fiscal year 2000-2001, the department is authorized to enter into grant agreements with sheriffs of other counties to perform child protective investigations in their respective counties. The sheriffs of other counties with which the department enters into grant agreements shall adopt the child welfare practice model, as periodically modified by the department, that is used by child protective investigators employed by the department.

History. — s. 2, ch. 98-180; ss. 12, 53, ch. 99-228; s. 3, ch. 2000-139; ss. 20, 66, ch. 2000-171; s. 13, ch. 2001-60; s. 17, ch. 2014-19; s. 2, ch. 2020-152; s. 5, ch. 2021-51; s. 1, ch. 2022-58.

39.3068 Reports of medical neglect.

(1) Upon receiving a report alleging medical neglect, the department or sheriff’s office shall assign the case to a child protective investigato