HB 77

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to child visitation; providing a short
3title; providing legislative intent; creating s. 39.0139,
4F.S.; requiring restrictions on visitation or contact by
5specified persons; creating a presumption; providing for
6hearing; providing conditions for visitation or contact
7during the pendency of hearing; amending ss. 39.402,
839.506, 39.509, and 39.521, F.S.; subjecting specified
9visitation orders to s. 39.0139, F.S.; amending s.
10753.001, F.S.; deleting an obsolete provision; amending s.
11753.002, F.S.; requiring development of specified safety
12standards for supervised visitation programs; deleting an
13obsolete provision; amending s. 753.004, F.S.; requiring
14supervised visitation programs to comply with specified
15safety standards; providing an effective date.
16
17Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19     Section 1.  This act may be cited as the "Keeping Children
20Safe Act of 2007."
21     Section 2.  Legislative intent.--It is the public policy of
22this state that children are to be kept safe when in the
23temporary or permanent custody of the Department of Children and
24Family Services or its contractors. An increasing portion of the
25allegations that bring children to the attention of child
26protection investigators involves sexual abuse of a child as
27defined in s. 39.01, Florida Statutes. This state has a
28substantial public interest in the protection of vulnerable
29children, including children who may be especially traumatized
30by contact with any alleged perpetrator of sexual abuse or
31related criminal conduct. In furtherance of that interest and
32protection of the children impacted, the state must regulate the
33contact of the child with persons who might seek to shape or
34influence testimony in matters relating to child sexual abuse or
35criminal conduct involving, allowing, or encouraging any sexual
36act against a child or exploitation of a child, including
37involvement of the child in human trafficking.
38     Section 3.  Section 39.0139, Florida Statutes, is created
39to read:
40     39.0139  Visitation restrictions when a child's safety or
41welfare cannot otherwise be adequately guaranteed.--
42     (1)  This section applies to a parent, stepparent,
43grandparent, stepgrandparent, relative, or caregiver in all
44proceedings governed by this chapter.
45     (2)  A presumption that visitation or contact is contrary
46to the best interest of the child is created when a parent,
47stepparent, grandparent, stepgrandparent, relative, or
48caregiver:
49     (a)  Is alleged in a proceeding under this chapter to have
50committed or has been found in such a proceeding to have
51committed sexual abuse of a child. If the parent, stepparent,
52grandparent, stepgrandparent, relative, or caregiver has been
53alleged to have committed sexual abuse of a child, he or she may
54seek review of the propriety of the allegation pursuant to the
55provisions of this chapter;
56     (b)  Has been designated a sexual predator under s. 775.21
57or has received a comparable designation under the laws of
58another jurisdiction;
59     (c)  Has been convicted of a sexual battery that
60constitutes a capital, life, or first degree felony violation of
61s. 794.011;
62     (d)  Has been alleged to have subjected the child or a
63sibling of the child to sexual abuse of a child as defined in s.
6439.01 or a sexual battery; or
65     (e)  Has been convicted of an offense in another
66jurisdiction that is substantially similar to an offense listed
67in this subsection. For purposes of this subsection, the term
68"substantially similar" has the same meaning as in s.
6939.806(1)(d)2.
70     (3)(a)  Visitation or other contact with a person to whom
71the presumption in subsection (2) applies shall be permitted
72only after a hearing and upon a court order. The court shall use
73heightened scrutiny as the allegations subject to this
74regulation presumptively place a child at risk of harm.
75     (b)  In such a hearing, an attorney ad litem or a guardian
76ad litem with special training shall be appointed to represent
77the child.
78     (c)1.  During the course of proceedings under this
79subsection, a court shall not allow the child to have visitation
80or contact with a person subject to the presumption in
81subsection (2) unless the visitation or contact is conducted in
82a supervised visitation program conforming to:
83     a.  The "Minimum Standards for Supervised Visitation
84Program Agreement" as adopted by the Supreme Court on November
8518, 1999;
86     b.  Standards that may be adopted under chapter 753; or
87     c.  Other conditions that the court, in express findings,
88determines will ensure the safety of the child at all times.
89     2.  In all occurrences of supervised visitation under this
90paragraph, a person supervising the visitation shall receive or
91have previously received training on supervising visitation
92between a victim and alleged perpetrator of sexual abuse.
93     Section 4.  Subsection (9) of section 39.402, Florida
94Statutes, is amended to read:
95     39.402  Placement in a shelter.--
96     (9)  At any shelter hearing, the department shall provide
97to the court a recommendation for scheduled contact between the
98child and parents, if appropriate. The court shall determine
99visitation rights absent a clear and convincing showing that
100visitation is not in the best interest of the child. If
101visitation is ordered but will not commence within 72 hours
102after of the shelter hearing, the department shall provide
103justification to the court. All orders of visitation are subject
104to s. 39.0139.
105     Section 5.  Subsection (6) of section 39.506, Florida
106Statutes, is amended to read:
107     39.506  Arraignment hearings.--
108     (6)  At any arraignment hearing, if the child is in an
109out-of-home placement, the court shall order visitation rights
110absent a clear and convincing showing that visitation is not in
111the best interest of the child. All orders of visitation are
112subject to s. 39.0139.
113     Section 6.  Section 39.509, Florida Statutes, is amended to
114read:
115     39.509  Grandparents rights.--Notwithstanding any other
116provision of law, a maternal or paternal grandparent as well as
117a stepgrandparent is entitled to reasonable visitation with his
118or her grandchild who has been adjudicated a dependent child and
119taken from the physical custody of the parent unless the court
120finds that such visitation is not in the best interest of the
121child or that such visitation would interfere with the goals of
122the case plan. Reasonable visitation may be unsupervised and,
123where appropriate and feasible, may be frequent and continuing.
124All orders of visitation are subject to s. 39.0139.
125     (1)  Grandparent visitation may take place in the home of
126the grandparent unless there is a compelling reason for denying
127such a visitation. The department's caseworker shall arrange the
128visitation to which a grandparent is entitled pursuant to this
129section. The state shall not charge a fee for any costs
130associated with arranging the visitation. However, the
131grandparent shall pay for the child's cost of transportation
132when the visitation is to take place in the grandparent's home.
133The caseworker shall document the reasons for any decision to
134restrict a grandparent's visitation.
135     (2)  A grandparent entitled to visitation pursuant to this
136section shall not be restricted from appropriate displays of
137affection to the child, such as appropriately hugging or kissing
138his or her grandchild. Gifts, cards, and letters from the
139grandparent and other family members shall not be denied to a
140child who has been adjudicated a dependent child.
141     (3)  Any attempt by a grandparent to facilitate a meeting
142between the child who has been adjudicated a dependent child and
143the child's parent or legal custodian, or any other person in
144violation of a court order shall automatically terminate future
145visitation rights of the grandparent.
146     (4)  When the child has been returned to the physical
147custody of his or her parent, the visitation rights granted
148pursuant to this section shall terminate.
149     (5)  The termination of parental rights does not affect the
150rights of grandparents unless the court finds that such
151visitation is not in the best interest of the child or that such
152visitation would interfere with the goals of permanency planning
153for the child.
154     (6)  In determining whether grandparental visitation is not
155in the child's best interest, consideration may be given to the
156finding of guilt, regardless of adjudication, or entry or plea
157of guilty or nolo contendere to charges under the following
158statutes, or similar statutes of other jurisdictions: s. 787.04,
159relating to removing minors from the state or concealing minors
160contrary to court order; s. 794.011, relating to sexual battery;
161s. 798.02, relating to lewd and lascivious behavior; chapter
162800, relating to lewdness and indecent exposure; or chapter 827,
163relating to the abuse of children. Consideration may also be
164given to a report of abuse, abandonment, or neglect under ss.
165415.101-415.113 or this chapter and the outcome of the
166investigation concerning such report.
167     Section 7.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section
16839.521, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
169     39.521  Disposition hearings; powers of disposition.--
170     (3)  When any child is adjudicated by a court to be
171dependent, the court shall determine the appropriate placement
172for the child as follows:
173     (d)  If the child cannot be safely placed in a nonlicensed
174placement, the court shall commit the child to the temporary
175legal custody of the department. Such commitment invests in the
176department all rights and responsibilities of a legal custodian.
177The department shall not return any child to the physical care
178and custody of the person from whom the child was removed,
179except for court-approved visitation periods, without the
180approval of the court. The term of such commitment continues
181until terminated by the court or until the child reaches the age
182of 18. After the child is committed to the temporary legal
183custody of the department, all further proceedings under this
184section are governed by this chapter. All orders of visitation
185are subject to s. 39.0139.
186
187Protective supervision continues until the court terminates it
188or until the child reaches the age of 18, whichever date is
189first. Protective supervision shall be terminated by the court
190whenever the court determines that permanency has been achieved
191for the child, whether with a parent, another relative, or a
192legal custodian, and that protective supervision is no longer
193needed. The termination of supervision may be with or without
194retaining jurisdiction, at the court's discretion, and shall in
195either case be considered a permanency option for the child. The
196order terminating supervision by the department shall set forth
197the powers of the custodian of the child and shall include the
198powers ordinarily granted to a guardian of the person of a minor
199unless otherwise specified. Upon the court's termination of
200supervision by the department, no further judicial reviews are
201required, so long as permanency has been established for the
202child.
203     Section 8.  Section 753.001, Florida Statutes, is amended
204to read:
205     753.001  Definitions.--As used in ss. 753.001-753.004:
206     (1)  A "supervised visitation program" exists where there
207is contact between a noncustodial parent and one or more
208children in the presence of a third person responsible for
209observing and ensuring the safety of those involved. Supervised
210visitation programs may also include exchange monitoring of
211children who are participating in court-ordered visitation
212programs or exchange monitoring where there has been mutual
213consent between parties for the purposes of facilitating a
214visitation.
215     (2)  "Exchange monitoring" means supervision of movement of
216a child from the custodial to the noncustodial parent at the
217start of the visit and back to the custodial parent at the end
218of the visit.
219
220This section shall take effect July 1, 1996.
221     Section 9.  Section 753.002, Florida Statutes, is amended
222to read:
223     753.002  Florida Family Visitation Network.--There is
224hereby created the Florida Family Visitation Network, which
225shall have the following responsibilities subject to the
226availability of resources:
227     (1)  To serve as a clearinghouse on resources and research
228of supervised visitation programs.
229     (2)  To provide technical assistance and other support
230services to existing and emerging supervised visitation
231programs.
232     (3)  To compile a directory of state-supervised visitation
233programs containing referral information.
234     (4)  To formulate a newsletter for supervised visitation
235programs.
236     (5)  To organize workshops and conferences which address
237issues and concerns of supervised visitation programs.
238     (6)  To have the authority to apply for grants and accept
239private contributions.
240     (7)  To compile data on the use of supervised visitation
241programs.
242     (8)  To develop standards for supervised visitation
243programs in order to ensure the safety of children in each
244program. These standards shall include a requirement for good
245moral character of program staff based upon screening using the
246level 2 standards for screening under s. 435.04.
247
248This section shall take effect July 1, 1996.
249     Section 10.  Subsection (4) is added to section 753.004,
250Florida Statutes, to read:
251     753.004  Supervised visitation projects.--Within its
252existing resources, the Institute of Food and Agricultural
253Sciences of the University of Florida may establish supervised
254visitation projects in communities throughout the state.
255     (4)  A supervised visitation project must comply with the
256safety standards developed under s. 753.002.
257     Section 11.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.