The Florida Senate

415.503  Definitions of terms used in ss. 415.502-415.514.--As used in ss. 415.502-415.514:

(1)  "Abused or neglected child" means a child whose physical or mental health or welfare is harmed, or threatened with harm, by the acts or omissions of the parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare or, for purposes of reporting requirements, by any person.

(2)  "Child" means any person under the age of 18 years.

(3)  "Child abuse or neglect" means harm or threatened harm to a child's physical or mental health or welfare by the acts or omissions of a parent, adult household member, or other person responsible for the child's welfare, or, for purposes of reporting requirements, by any person.

(4)  "Guardian advocate" means a person appointed by the court to act on behalf of a drug dependent newborn pursuant to the provisions in ss. 415.5082-415.5089.

(5)  "Child protection team" means a team of professionals established by the department to receive referrals from the protective investigators and protective supervision staff of the children, youth, and families program and to provide specialized and supportive services to the program in processing child abuse and neglect cases. A child protection team shall provide consultation to other programs of the department and other persons on child abuse and neglect cases pursuant to s. 415.5055(1)(g).

(6)  "Department" means the Department of Children and Family Services.

(7)  "False report" means a report of abuse or neglect of a child to the central abuse hotline, which report is maliciously made for the purpose of:

(a)  Harassing, embarrassing, or harming another person;

(b)  Personal financial gain for the reporting person;

(c)  Acquiring custody of a child; or

(d)  Personal benefit for the reporting person in any other private dispute involving a child.

The term "false report" does not include a report of abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a child made in good faith to the central abuse hotline.

(8)  "Guardian ad litem" as referred to in any civil or criminal proceeding includes the following: a certified guardian ad litem program, a duly certified volunteer, a staff attorney, contract attorney, or certified pro bono attorney working on behalf of a guardian ad litem or the program; staff members of a program office; a court-appointed attorney; or a responsible adult who is appointed by the court to represent the best interests of a child in a proceeding as provided for by law, including, but not limited to, chapter 39 and this chapter, who is a party to any judicial proceeding as a representative of the child, and who serves until discharged by the court.

(9)  "Harm" to a child's health or welfare can occur when the parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare:

(a)  Inflicts, or allows to be inflicted, upon the child physical, mental, or emotional injury. In determining whether harm has occurred, the following factors must be considered in evaluating any physical, mental, or emotional injury to a child: the age of the child; any prior history of injuries to the child; the location of the injury on the body of the child; the multiplicity of the injury; and the type of trauma inflicted. Such injury includes, but is not limited to:

1.  Willful acts that produce the following specific injuries:

a.  Sprains, dislocations, or cartilage damage.

b.  Bone or skull fractures.

c.  Brain or spinal cord damage.

d.  Intracranial hemorrhage or injury to other internal organs.

e.  Asphyxiation, suffocation, or drowning.

f.  Injury resulting from the use of a deadly weapon.

g.  Burns or scalding.

h.  Cuts, lacerations, punctures, or bites.

i.  Permanent or temporary disfigurement.

j.  Permanent or temporary loss or impairment of a body part or function.

As used in this subparagraph, the term "willful" refers to the intent to perform an action, not to the intent to achieve a result or to cause an injury.

2.  Purposely giving a child poison, alcohol, drugs, or other substances that substantially affect the child's behavior, motor coordination, or judgment or that result in sickness or internal injury. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term "drugs" means prescription drugs not prescribed for the child or not administered as prescribed, and controlled substances as outlined in Schedule I or Schedule II of s. 893.03.

3.  Leaving a child without adult supervision or arrangement appropriate for the child's age or mental or physical condition, so that the child is unable to care for the child's own needs or another's basic needs or is unable to exercise good judgment in responding to any kind of physical or emotional crisis.

4.  Inappropriate or excessively harsh disciplinary action that is likely to result in physical injury, mental injury as defined in this section, or emotional injury. The significance of any injury must be evaluated in light of the following factors: the age of the child, any prior history of injuries to the child, the location of the injury on the body of the child, the multiplicity of the injury, and the type of trauma inflicted. Corporal discipline may be considered excessive or abusive when it results in any of the following or other similar injuries:

a.  Sprains, dislocations, or cartilage damage.

b.  Bone or skull fractures.

c.  Brain or spinal cord damage.

d.  Intracranial hemorrhage or injury to other internal organs.

e.  Asphyxiation, suffocation, or drowning.

f.  Injury resulting from the use of a deadly weapon.

g.  Burns or scalding.

h.  Cuts, lacerations, punctures, or bites.

i.  Permanent or temporary disfigurement.

j.  Permanent or temporary loss or impairment of a body part or function.

k.  Significant bruises or welts.

(b)  Commits, or allows to be committed, sexual battery, as defined in chapter 794, or lewd or lascivious acts, as defined in chapter 800, against the child.

(c)  Allows, encourages, or forces the sexual exploitation of a child, which includes allowing, encouraging, or forcing a child to:

1.  Solicit for or engage in prostitution; or

2.  Engage in a sexual performance, as defined by chapter 827.

(d)  Exploits a child, or allows a child to be exploited, as provided in s. 450.151.

(e)  Abandons the child. The term "abandons the child" means that the parent or legal custodian of a child or, in the absence of a parent or legal custodian, the person responsible for the child's welfare, while being able, makes no provision for the child's support and makes no effort to communicate with the child, which situation is sufficient to evince a willful rejection of parental obligation. If the efforts of such a parent or legal custodian or person primarily responsible for the child's welfare to support and communicate with the child are only marginal efforts that do not evince a settled purpose to assume all parental duties, the child may be determined to have been abandoned.

(f)  Neglects the child. The term "neglects the child" means that the parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare fails to supply the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or health care, although financially able to do so or although offered financial or other means to do so. However, a parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare who, by reason of the legitimate practice of religious beliefs, does not provide specified medical treatment for a child may not be considered abusive or neglectful for that reason alone, but such an exception does not:

1.  Eliminate the requirement that such a case be reported to the department;

2.  Prevent the department from investigating such a case; or

3.  Preclude a court from ordering, when the health of the child requires it, the provision of medical services by a physician, as defined in this section, or treatment by a duly accredited practitioner who relies solely on spiritual means for healing in accordance with the tenets and practices of a well-recognized church or religious organization.

(g)  Exposes a child to a controlled substance or alcohol. Exposure to a controlled substance or alcohol is established by:

1.  Use by the mother of a controlled substance or alcohol during pregnancy when the child, at birth, is demonstrably adversely affected by such usage; or

2.  Continued chronic and severe use of a controlled substance or alcohol by a parent when the child is demonstrably adversely affected by such usage. As used in this paragraph, the term "controlled substance" means prescription drugs not prescribed for the parent or not administered as prescribed and controlled substances as outlined in Schedule I or Schedule II of s. 893.03.

The parent of a newborn infant may not be subject to criminal investigation solely on the basis of the positive drug toxicology of a newborn infant.

(h)  Uses mechanical devices, unreasonable restraints, or extended periods of isolation to control children.

(i)  Engages in violent behavior that demonstrates a wanton disregard for the presence of a child and could reasonably result in serious injury to the child.

(j)  Negligently fails to protect a child in his or her care from inflicted physical, mental, or sexual injury caused by the acts of another.

(k)  Has allowed a child's sibling to die as a result of abuse or neglect.

(10)  "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 private school, public or private day care center, residential home, institution, facility, or agency or any other person responsible for the child's care.

(11)  "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, with due regard to his or her culture.

(12)  "Other person responsible for a child's welfare" includes the child's legal guardian, legal custodian, or foster parent; an employee of a private school, public or private child day care center, residential home, institution, facility, or agency; 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 law enforcement officers or employees of municipal or county detention facilities or the Department of Corrections while acting in an official capacity.

(13)  "Physical injury" means death, permanent or temporary disfigurement, or impairment of any bodily part.

(14)  "Physician" means any licensed physician, dentist, podiatrist, or optometrist and includes any intern or resident.

(15)  "Sexual abuse of a child" means one or more of the following acts:

(a)  Any penetration, however slight, of the vagina or anal opening of one person by the penis of another person, whether or not there is the emission of semen.

(b)  Any sexual contact between the genitals or anal opening of one person and the mouth or tongue of another person.

(c)  Any intrusion by one person into the genitals or anal opening of another person, including the use of any object for this purpose, except that it does not include any act intended for a valid medical purpose.

(d)  The intentional touching of the genitals or intimate parts, including the breasts, genital area, groin, inner thighs, and buttocks, or the clothing covering them, of either the child or the perpetrator, except that it does not include:

1.  Any act which may reasonably be construed to be a normal caretaker responsibility, an interaction with, or affection for a child; or

2.  Any act intended for a valid medical purpose.

(e)  The intentional masturbation of the perpetrator's genitals in the presence of a child.

(f)  The intentional exposure of the perpetrator's genitals in the presence of a child, or any other sexual act intentionally perpetrated in the presence of a child, if such exposure or sexual act is for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification, aggression, degradation, or other similar purpose.

(g)  The sexual exploitation of a child, which includes allowing, encouraging, or forcing a child to:

1.  Solicit for or engage in prostitution; or

2.  Engage in a sexual performance, as defined by chapter 827.

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. 2, ch. 83-75; s. 6, ch. 84-226; s. 1, ch. 87-90; s. 33, ch. 87-238; s. 20, ch. 88-337; s. 4, ch. 89-281; s. 1, ch. 89-345; s. 5, ch. 90-50; s. 50, ch. 90-306; s. 6, ch. 91-57; s. 5, ch. 93-25; s. 2, ch. 93-203; s. 58, ch. 94-164; s. 6, ch. 94-204; s. 43, ch. 95-228; s. 1, ch. 96-109; s. 21, ch. 96-402; s. 270, ch. 96-406; s. 221, ch. 97-101; s. 1040, ch. 97-103.

Note.--Former ss. 828.041, 827.07(2).