The Florida Senate

39.408  Hearings for dependency cases.--

(1)  ARRAIGNMENT HEARING.--

(a)  When a child has been detained by order of the court, an arraignment hearing must be held, within 14 days from the date the child is taken into custody, for the parent, guardian, or custodian to admit, deny, or consent to findings of dependency alleged in the petition. If the parent, guardian, or custodian admits or consents to the findings in the petition, the court shall proceed as set forth in the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure. However, if the parent, guardian, or custodian denies any of the allegations of the petition, the court shall hold an adjudicatory hearing within 7 days from the date of the arraignment hearing unless a continuance is granted pursuant to ¹s. 39.402(11).

(b)  When a child is in the custody of the parent, guardian, or custodian, upon the filing of a petition the clerk shall set a date for an arraignment hearing within a reasonable time after the date of the filing. If the parent, guardian, or custodian admits or consents to an adjudication, the court shall proceed as set forth in the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure. However, if the parent, guardian, or custodian denies any of the allegations of dependency, the court shall hold an adjudicatory hearing within a reasonable time after the date of the arraignment hearing.

(c)  If at the arraignment hearing the parent, guardian, or custodian consents or admits to the allegations in the petition, the court shall proceed to hold a dispositional hearing at the earliest practicable time that will allow for the completion of a predisposition study.

(2)  ADJUDICATORY HEARING.--

(a)  The adjudicatory hearing shall be held as soon as practicable after the petition for dependency is filed and in accordance with the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, but reasonable delay for the purpose of investigation, discovery, or procuring counsel or witnesses shall, whenever practicable, be granted. If the child is in custody, the time limitations provided in s. 39.402 and subsection (1) of this section apply.

(b)  Adjudicatory hearings shall be conducted by the judge without a jury, applying the rules of evidence in use in civil cases and adjourning the hearings from time to time as necessary. In a hearing on a petition in which it is alleged that the child is dependent, a preponderance of evidence will be required to establish the state of dependency. Any evidence presented in the dependency hearing which was obtained as the result of an anonymous call must be independently corroborated. In no instance shall allegations made in an anonymous report of abuse be sufficient to support an adjudication of dependency in the absence of corroborating evidence.

(c)  All hearings, except as provided in this section, shall be open to the public, and a person may not be excluded except on special order of the judge, who may close any hearing to the public upon determining that the public interest or the welfare of the child is best served by so doing. However, the parents shall be allowed to obtain discovery pursuant to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure. However, nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to affect the provisions of s. 415.51(9). Hearings involving more than one child may be held simultaneously when the children involved are related to each other or were involved in the same case. The child and the parents or legal custodians of the child may be examined separately and apart from each other.

(3)  DISPOSITION HEARING.--At the disposition hearing, if the court finds that the facts alleged in the petition for dependency were proven in the adjudicatory hearing, or if the parents have consented to the finding of dependency or admitted the allegations in the petition, have failed to appear for the arraignment hearing after proper notice, or have not been located despite a diligent search having been conducted, the court shall receive and consider a predisposition study, which must be in writing and presented by an authorized agent of the department.

(a)  The predisposition study shall cover for any dependent child all factors specified in s. 61.13(3), and must also provide the court with the following documented information:

1.  An assessment defining the dangers and risks of returning the child home, including a description of the changes in and resolutions to the initial risks.

2.  A description of what risks are still present and what resources are available and will be provided for the protection and safety of the child.

3.  A description of the benefits of returning the child home.

4.  A description of all unresolved issues.

5.  An abuse registry history for all caretakers, family members, and individuals residing within the household.

6.  The complete child protection team report and recommendation or, if no report exists, a statement reflecting that no report has been made.

7.  All opinions or recommendations from other professionals or agencies that provide evaluative, social, reunification, or other services to the family.

8.  The availability of appropriate prevention and reunification services for the family to prevent the removal of the child from the home or to reunify the child with the family after removal, including the availability of family preservation services through the Family Builders Program, the Intensive Crisis Counseling Program, or both.

9.  The inappropriateness of other prevention and reunification services that were available.

10.  The efforts by the department to prevent out-of-home placement of the child or, when applicable, to reunify the family if appropriate services were available, including the application of intensive family preservation services through the Family Builders Program, the Intensive Crisis Counseling Program, or both.

11.  Whether the services were provided to the family and child.

12.  If the services were provided, whether they were sufficient to meet the needs of the child and the family and to enable the child to remain at home or to be returned home.

13.  If the services were not provided, the reasons for such lack of action.

14.  The need for, or appropriateness of, continuing the services if the child remains in the custody of the family or if the child is placed outside the home.

15.  Whether family mediation was provided.

16.  Whether a multidisciplinary case staffing was conducted and, if so, the results.

17.  If the child has been removed from the home and there is a parent who may be considered for custody pursuant to s. 39.41(1), a recommendation as to whether placement of the child with that parent would be detrimental to the child.

(b)  If placement of the child with anyone other than the child's parent or custodian is being considered, the study shall include the designation of a specific length of time as to when custody by the parent or custodian will be reconsidered.

(c)  A copy of the predisposition study must be furnished to all parties no later than 48 hours before the disposition hearing.

(d)  The predisposition study may not be made before the adjudication of dependency unless the parents or custodians of the child consent.

Any other relevant and material evidence, including other written or oral reports, may be received by the court in its effort to determine the action to be taken with regard to the child and may be relied upon to the extent of its probative value, even though not competent in an adjudicatory hearing. Except as provided in paragraph (2)(c), nothing in this section prohibits the publication of proceedings in a hearing.

(4)  NOTICE OF HEARINGS.--The parent or legal custodian of the child, the attorney for the department, the guardian ad litem, and all other parties and participants shall be given reasonable notice of all hearings provided for under this section.

History.--s. 20, ch. 78-414; s. 9, ch. 84-311; s. 7, ch. 87-133; s. 1, ch. 90-182; s. 2, ch. 90-211; s. 7, ch. 90-306; s. 7, ch. 92-170; s. 12, ch. 94-164; s. 12, ch. 95-228.

¹Note.--Redesignated as s. 39.402(10) by s. 7, ch. 95-228.