Bill Text: FL S0774 | 2018 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Dependency Proceedings

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)

Status: (Failed) 2018-03-10 - Died in Messages [S0774 Detail]

Download: Florida-2018-S0774-Comm_Sub.html

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       Florida Senate - 2018                       CS for CS for SB 774
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Judiciary; and Children, Families, and
       Elder Affairs; and Senator Bean
       
       
       
       
       590-03466-18                                           2018774c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to dependency proceedings; amending s.
    3         63.092, F.S.; requiring the Department of Children and
    4         Families to provide specified records to entities
    5         conducting preliminary home studies; limiting certain
    6         training requirements to persons who adopt children
    7         from the department; providing an effective date.
    8          
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 63.092, Florida
   12  Statutes, is amended to read:
   13         63.092 Report to the court of intended placement by an
   14  adoption entity; at-risk placement; preliminary study.—
   15         (3) PRELIMINARY HOME STUDY.—Before placing the minor in the
   16  intended adoptive home, a preliminary home study must be
   17  performed by a licensed child-placing agency, a child-caring
   18  agency registered under s. 409.176, a licensed professional, or
   19  an agency described in s. 61.20(2), unless the adoptee is an
   20  adult or the petitioner is a stepparent or a relative. If the
   21  adoptee is an adult or the petitioner is a stepparent or a
   22  relative, a preliminary home study may be required by the court
   23  for good cause shown. The department is required to perform the
   24  preliminary home study only if there is no licensed child
   25  placing agency, child-caring agency registered under s. 409.176,
   26  licensed professional, or agency described in s. 61.20(2), in
   27  the county where the prospective adoptive parents reside. The
   28  preliminary home study must be made to determine the suitability
   29  of the intended adoptive parents and may be completed prior to
   30  identification of a prospective adoptive minor. A favorable
   31  preliminary home study is valid for 1 year after the date of its
   32  completion. Upon its completion, a signed copy of the home study
   33  must be provided to the intended adoptive parents who were the
   34  subject of the home study. A minor may not be placed in an
   35  intended adoptive home before a favorable preliminary home study
   36  is completed unless the adoptive home is also a licensed foster
   37  home under s. 409.175. The preliminary home study must include,
   38  at a minimum:
   39         (a) An interview with the intended adoptive parents;
   40         (b) Records checks of the department’s central abuse
   41  registry, which the department shall provide to the entity
   42  conducting the preliminary home study, and criminal records
   43  correspondence checks under s. 39.0138 through the Department of
   44  Law Enforcement on the intended adoptive parents;
   45         (c) An assessment of the physical environment of the home;
   46         (d) A determination of the financial security of the
   47  intended adoptive parents;
   48         (e) Documentation of counseling and education of the
   49  intended adoptive parents on adoptive parenting as determined by
   50  the entity conducting the preliminary home study. The training
   51  specified in s. 409.175(14) shall only be required for persons
   52  who adopt children from the department;
   53         (f) Documentation that information on adoption and the
   54  adoption process has been provided to the intended adoptive
   55  parents;
   56         (g) Documentation that information on support services
   57  available in the community has been provided to the intended
   58  adoptive parents; and
   59         (h) A copy of each signed acknowledgment of receipt of
   60  disclosure required by s. 63.085.
   61  
   62  If the preliminary home study is favorable, a minor may be
   63  placed in the home pending entry of the judgment of adoption. A
   64  minor may not be placed in the home if the preliminary home
   65  study is unfavorable. If the preliminary home study is
   66  unfavorable, the adoption entity may, within 20 days after
   67  receipt of a copy of the written recommendation, petition the
   68  court to determine the suitability of the intended adoptive
   69  home. A determination as to suitability under this subsection
   70  does not act as a presumption of suitability at the final
   71  hearing. In determining the suitability of the intended adoptive
   72  home, the court must consider the totality of the circumstances
   73  in the home. A minor may not be placed in a home in which there
   74  resides any person determined by the court to be a sexual
   75  predator as defined in s. 775.21 or to have been convicted of an
   76  offense listed in s. 63.089(4)(b)2.
   77         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2018.