| 1 | The Civil Justice Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to children in out-of-home placements; |
| 7 | amending s. 39.402, F.S.; providing that a court must be |
| 8 | provided with a name and location of an individual who |
| 9 | might be considered for placement of a child; amending s. |
| 10 | 39.521, F.S.; deleting a requirement to use diligent |
| 11 | efforts to locate an adult relative to care for a child; |
| 12 | amending s. 39.522, F.S.; providing a standard for |
| 13 | changing the custody of a child; providing for an |
| 14 | evidentiary hearing when there is an objection to the |
| 15 | placement of a child; providing factors a court must |
| 16 | consider in determining a change of placement to any |
| 17 | person other than a parent; amending s. 63.082, F.S.; |
| 18 | providing for consideration of certain factors in |
| 19 | determining whether the best interest of the child will be |
| 20 | served by transferring custody of the child when the child |
| 21 | has resided in the same out-of-home placement for more |
| 22 | than 1 year; amending s. 120.80, F.S.; requiring that an |
| 23 | administrative hearing be conducted by an administrative |
| 24 | law judge assigned by the Division of Administrative |
| 25 | Hearings in cases involving children with developmental |
| 26 | disabilities under certain circumstances; providing an |
| 27 | effective date. |
| 28 |
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| 29 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 30 |
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| 31 | Section 1. Subsection (17) is added to section 39.402, |
| 32 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 33 | 39.402 Placement in a shelter.-- |
| 34 | (17) The court shall inquire of the parent as to whether |
| 35 | the child has any relatives who might be considered as a |
| 36 | placement. The parent shall provide the name and location |
| 37 | information of any such relative or other adult who might be |
| 38 | considered a placement to the court and all parties. The court |
| 39 | shall advise the parent that if the parent knows of any relative |
| 40 | or other adult who wishes to be considered as a placement, the |
| 41 | parent must notify the court and assist the department in |
| 42 | locating the relative or other adult. |
| 43 | Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section |
| 44 | 39.521, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 45 | 39.521 Disposition hearings; powers of disposition.-- |
| 46 | (1) A disposition hearing shall be conducted by the court, |
| 47 | if the court finds that the facts alleged in the petition for |
| 48 | dependency were proven in the adjudicatory hearing, or if the |
| 49 | parents or legal custodians have consented to the finding of |
| 50 | dependency or admitted the allegations in the petition, have |
| 51 | failed to appear for the arraignment hearing after proper |
| 52 | notice, or have not been located despite a diligent search |
| 53 | having been conducted. |
| 54 | (d) The court shall, in its written order of disposition, |
| 55 | include all of the following: |
| 56 | 1. The placement or custody of the child. |
| 57 | 2. Special conditions of placement and visitation. |
| 58 | 3. Evaluation, counseling, treatment activities, and other |
| 59 | actions to be taken by the parties, if ordered. |
| 60 | 4. The persons or entities responsible for supervising or |
| 61 | monitoring services to the child and parent. |
| 62 | 5. Continuation or discharge of the guardian ad litem, as |
| 63 | appropriate. |
| 64 | 6. The date, time, and location of the next scheduled |
| 65 | review hearing, which must occur within the earlier of: |
| 66 | a. Ninety days after the disposition hearing; |
| 67 | b. Ninety days after the court accepts the case plan; |
| 68 | c. Six months after the date of the last review hearing; |
| 69 | or |
| 70 | d. Six months after the date of the child's removal from |
| 71 | his or her home, if no review hearing has been held since the |
| 72 | child's removal from the home. |
| 73 | 7. If the child is in an out-of-home placement, child |
| 74 | support to be paid by the parents, or the guardian of the |
| 75 | child's estate if possessed of assets which under law may be |
| 76 | disbursed for the care, support, and maintenance of the child. |
| 77 | The court may exercise jurisdiction over all child support |
| 78 | matters, shall adjudicate the financial obligation, including |
| 79 | health insurance, of the child's parents or guardian, and shall |
| 80 | enforce the financial obligation as provided in chapter 61. The |
| 81 | state's child support enforcement agency shall enforce child |
| 82 | support orders under this section in the same manner as child |
| 83 | support orders under chapter 61. Placement of the child shall |
| 84 | not be contingent upon issuance of a support order. |
| 85 | 8.a. If the court does not commit the child to the |
| 86 | temporary legal custody of an adult relative, legal custodian, |
| 87 | or other adult approved by the court, the disposition order |
| 88 | shall include the reasons for such a decision and shall include |
| 89 | a determination as to whether diligent efforts were made by the |
| 90 | department to locate an adult relative, legal custodian, or |
| 91 | other adult willing to care for the child in order to present |
| 92 | that placement option to the court instead of placement with the |
| 93 | department. |
| 94 | b. If diligent efforts are made to locate an adult |
| 95 | relative willing and able to care for the child but, because no |
| 96 | suitable relative is found and, the child is placed with the |
| 97 | department or a legal custodian or other adult approved by the |
| 98 | court, both the department and the court shall consider |
| 99 | transferring temporary legal custody to an adult relative |
| 100 | approved by the court at a later date, but neither the |
| 101 | department and nor the court may not is obligated to so place |
| 102 | the child if it is in the child's best interest to remain in the |
| 103 | current placement. |
| 104 |
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| 105 | For the purposes of this subparagraph, "diligent efforts to |
| 106 | locate an adult relative" means a search similar to the diligent |
| 107 | search for a parent, but without the continuing obligation to |
| 108 | search after an initial adequate search is completed. |
| 109 | 9. Other requirements necessary to protect the health, |
| 110 | safety, and well-being of the child, to preserve the stability |
| 111 | of the child's educational placement, and to promote family |
| 112 | preservation or reunification whenever possible. |
| 113 | Section 3. Section 39.522, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 114 | read: |
| 115 | 39.522 Postdisposition change of custody.--The court may |
| 116 | change the temporary legal custody or the conditions of |
| 117 | protective supervision at a postdisposition hearing, without the |
| 118 | necessity of another adjudicatory hearing. The standard for |
| 119 | changing the custody of the child shall be the best interest of |
| 120 | the child. |
| 121 | (1)(a) A child who has been placed in the child's own home |
| 122 | under the protective supervision of an authorized agent of the |
| 123 | department, in the home of a relative, in the home of a legal |
| 124 | custodian, or in some other place, including a foster home, may |
| 125 | be brought before the court by the department or by any other |
| 126 | interested person, upon the filing of a petition alleging a need |
| 127 | for a change in the conditions of protective supervision or the |
| 128 | placement. |
| 129 | (b) If any party or the actual custodian of the child |
| 130 | objects to a change in placement If the parents or other legal |
| 131 | custodians deny the need for a change, the court shall conduct |
| 132 | an evidentiary hearing and hear all parties and the actual |
| 133 | custodian in person or by counsel, or both. |
| 134 | (c) When the proposed change of placement is to any person |
| 135 | other than a parent, the decision may not be based solely on the |
| 136 | existence of a biological or prospective adoptive relationship |
| 137 | with a placement or on the expressed wishes of a parent, |
| 138 | caregiver, or relative. The court's best interest determination |
| 139 | shall be based on evidence admitted at the hearing and shall |
| 140 | include an evaluation of, and entry of findings as to, all |
| 141 | factors affecting the welfare of the child, including but not |
| 142 | limited to: |
| 143 | 1. The ability of the current and proposed custodians to |
| 144 | provide for the safety, well-being, and physical, mental, and |
| 145 | emotional health of the child. |
| 146 | 2. The love, affection, and other emotional ties existing |
| 147 | between the child and the current and proposed custodians. |
| 148 | 3. The length of time the child has lived in a stable, |
| 149 | satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining |
| 150 | continuity. |
| 151 | 4. The preference of the child, if the court deems the |
| 152 | child to be of sufficient intelligence, understanding, and |
| 153 | experience to express a preference. |
| 154 | (2) Upon the admission of a need for a change or after the |
| 155 | such hearing, the court shall enter an order changing the |
| 156 | placement, modifying the conditions of protective supervision, |
| 157 | or continuing the conditions of protective supervision as |
| 158 | ordered. The standard for changing custody of the child shall be |
| 159 | the best interest of the child. If the child is not placed in |
| 160 | foster care, then the new placement for the child must meet the |
| 161 | home study criteria and court approval pursuant to this chapter. |
| 162 | (3)(2) In cases where the issue before the court is |
| 163 | whether a child should be reunited with a parent, the court |
| 164 | shall determine whether the parent has substantially complied |
| 165 | with the terms of the case plan to the extent that the safety, |
| 166 | well-being, and physical, mental, and emotional health of the |
| 167 | child is not endangered by the return of the child to the home. |
| 168 | Section 4. Paragraph (d) of subsection (6) of section |
| 169 | 63.082, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 170 | 63.082 Execution of consent to adoption or affidavit of |
| 171 | nonpaternity; family social and medical history; withdrawal of |
| 172 | consent.-- |
| 173 | (6) |
| 174 | (d) Subject to consideration of the factors listed in s. |
| 175 | 39.522(1), when any child has resided in the same out-of-home |
| 176 | placement for more than 1 year prior to the filing of a motion |
| 177 | under this subsection, in determining whether the best interest |
| 178 | of the child will be served by transferring the custody of the |
| 179 | minor child to the prospective adoptive parent selected by the |
| 180 | birth parent, the court shall give consideration to the rights |
| 181 | of the birth parent to determine an appropriate placement for |
| 182 | the child, the permanency offered, the child's bonding with any |
| 183 | potential adoptive home that the child has been residing in, and |
| 184 | the importance of maintaining sibling relationships, if |
| 185 | possible. |
| 186 | Section 5. Subsection (18) is added to section 120.80, |
| 187 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 188 | 120.80 Exceptions and special requirements; agencies.-- |
| 189 | (18) AGENCY FOR PERSONS WITH |
| 190 | DISABILITIES.--Notwithstanding subsection (7), hearings shall be |
| 191 | conducted by an administrative law judge assigned by the |
| 192 | division in cases involving children with developmental |
| 193 | disabilities who are in the custody of the department and placed |
| 194 | in out-of-home care who apply for, are denied, or receive |
| 195 | reduced developmental disability services under chapter 393. |
| 196 | Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |