The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Rules
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1322
INTRODUCER: Rules Committee; Judiciary Committee; and Senator Grall
SUBJECT: Adoption
DATE: April 19, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Tuszynski Cox CF Favorable
2. Davis Cibula JU Fav/CS
3. Tuszynski Twogood RC Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/CS/SB 1322 provides that a parent’s right to change the prospective adoptive parents of a
dependent child becomes increasingly limited as a dependency case proceeds closer to the
termination of the parent’s rights.
If the child is in dependency court and has been in his or her current placement with prospective
adoptive parents for at least 9 continuous months, or 15 of the last 24 months, the bill creates a
rebuttable presumption that it is in the child’s best interest to remain in the current placement. In
evaluating whether the presumption is rebutted, the court must hold a hearing and evaluate
several factors to determine whether the current placement or the proposed placement by an
adoption entity is in the best interest of the child. If, however, a petition for the termination of
parental rights has been filed, any consent to the adoption of the child with an adoption entity or
a prospective parent is only valid up to and including the 30th day after the filing of the petition.
If the court determines that it is in the best interests to change placement of the child, the order
must allow for a reasonable time for transition in accordance with a transition plan developed by
the DCF and other stakeholders.
The bill also creates an unnumbered section of law requiring the Office of Program Policy
Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) to conduct a national comparative analysis
of state processes that allow private adoption entities to intervene or participate in dependency
cases and requires the DCF and licensed child-caring and child-placing agencies to provide
OPPAGA with certain data by dates certain. The analysis and report is due to the President of the
Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 1, 2024.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1322 Page 2
The bill does not appear to have a fiscal impact on the government or private sector. See Section
V. Fiscal Impact Statement.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2023.
II. Present Situation:
Florida’s Child Welfare System
Chapter 39, F.S., creates the state’s dependency system that is charged with protecting the
welfare of children in Florida; this system is often referred to as the “child welfare system.” The
DCF Office of Child and Family Well-Being works in partnership with local communities and
the courts to ensure the safety, timely permanency, and well-being of children.
Child welfare services are directed toward the prevention of abandonment, abuse, and neglect of
children.1 The DCF practice model is based on the safety of the child within his or her home,
using in-home services such as parenting coaching and counseling to maintain and strengthen
that child’s natural supports in his or her home environment. Such services are coordinated by
DCF-contracted community-based care lead agencies (CBC).2
Community-based Care
The DCF, through the CBCs, administers a system of care3 for children which is required to
focus on:
Prevention of separation of children from their families;
Intervention to allow children to remain safely in their own homes;
Reunification of families who have had children removed from their care;
Safety for children who are separated from their families;
Promoting the well-being of children through emphasis on educational stability and timely
health care;
Permanency; and
Transition to independence and self-sufficiency.4
The CBCs must give priority to services that are evidence-based and trauma informed.5 The
CBCs contract with a number of subcontractors for case management and direct care services to
children and their families. There are 17 CBCs statewide, which together serve the state’s 20
judicial circuits.6 The CBCs employ case managers that serve as the primary link between the
1
Section 39.001(8), F.S.
2
Section 409.986(1), F.S.; See generally The Department of Children and Families (The DCF), About Community-Based
Care, https://www.myflfamilies.com/services/child-family/child-and-family-well-being/community-based-care/about-
community-based-care (last viewed March 15, 2023).
3
Id.
4
Id.; Also see generally s. 409.988, F.S.
5
Section 409.988(3), F.S.
6
The DCF, Lead Agency Information, https://www.myflfamilies.com/services/child-family/child-and-family-well-
being/community-based-care/lead-agency-information (last visited March 15, 2023).
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1322 Page 3
child welfare system and families under the DCF’s supervision. These case managers work with
affected families to ensure that a child reaches his or her permanency goal in a timely fashion.7
Out-of-home Placement
When a child protective investigator determines that in-home services are not enough to ensure
safety in a child’s home, the investigator removes and places the child with a safe and
appropriate temporary placement.8 These temporary placements, referred to as out-of-home care
or foster care, provide housing and services to a child until the conditions in his or her home are
safe enough to return or the child achieves permanency with another family through another
permanency option, like adoption.9
The CBCs must place all children in out-of-home care in the most appropriate available setting
after conducting an assessment using child-specific factors.10 Legislative intent is to place a child
in the least restrictive, most family-like environment in close proximity to parents when removed
from his or her home.11
Case planning
The DCF must develop and draft a case plan for each child receiving services within the
dependency system.12 The purpose of a case plan is to develop a document that details the
identified concerns and barriers within the family unit, the permanency goal or goals, and the
services designed to ameliorate those concerns and barriers and achieve the permanency goal.13
The services detailed in a case plan must be designed in collaboration with the parent and
stakeholders to improve the conditions in the home and aid in maintaining the child in the home,
facilitate the child’s safe return to the home, ensure proper care of the child, or facilitate the
child’s permanent placement.14 The services offered must be the least intrusive possible into the
life of the parent and child and must provide the most efficient path to quick reunification or
other permanent placement.15
The Florida Adoption Act
The Florida Adoption Act, ch. 63, F.S., applies to all adoptions, whether private or from the child
welfare system, involving the following entities:
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) under ch. 39, F.S.;
Child-placing agencies licensed by the DCF under s. 63.202, F.S.;
Child-caring agencies registered under s. 409.176, F.S.;
7
Section 409.988(1), F.S.
8
Sections 39.401 through 39.4022, F.S.
9
The Office of Program Policy and Government Accountability, Program Summary,
https://oppaga.fl.gov/ProgramSummary/ProgramDetail?programNumber=5053 (last visited March 15, 2023).
10
Rule 65C-28.004, Fla. Admin. Code, provides that the child-specific factors include age, sex, sibling status, physical,
educational, emotional, and developmental needs, maltreatment, community ties, and school placement.
11
Sections 39.001(1) and 39.4021(1), F.S.
12
See Part VII of ch. 39, F.S.
13
Section 39.6012(1), F.S.
14
Id.
15
Id.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1322 Page 4
An attorney licensed to practice in Florida; or
A child-placing agency licensed in another state which is licensed by the DCF to place
children in Florida.16
Chapter 39 Adoptions
Ultimately, if a child’s home remains unsafe and the court is unable to reunify him or her, the
child welfare system may seek a permanent home for that child through the adoption process.17
Adoption is the act of creating a legal relationship between a parent and child where one did not
previously exist, declaring the child to be legally the child of the adoptive parents and entitled to
all rights and privileges and subject to all obligations of a child born to the adoptive parents.18
Adoption is one of the legally recognized child-welfare permanency goals that may be ordered
by a court for a child within the child welfare system.19
To free a child for adoption, the DCF must terminate the legal relationship between the child and
his or her current parents in a proceeding known as a termination of parental rights. Once this
process has occurred and parental rights have been terminated, the court retains jurisdiction over
the child until the child is adopted.20 The DCF may place the child with a licensed child-placing
agency, a registered child-caring agency, or a family home for prospective adoption if given
custody of a child that has been made available for a subsequent adoption under ch. 39, F.S.21
Intervention by an Adoption Entity into a Dependency Proceeding
Chapter 63, F.S., provides extensive legislative intent for the purpose and process of adoption,22
and for cooperation between private adoption entities and DCF in matters relating to permanent
placement options for children in the care of DCF whose parents wish to participate in a private
adoption plan.23 In 2003, the Legislature created s. 63.082(6), F.S., which is a path to allow a
child-welfare involved parent to place his or her child for adoption with a private adoption
agency, while the child is under the jurisdiction of the dependency court and receiving services
from the DCF and CBCs, as long as parental rights have not been terminated.24
Upon execution of a consent for adoption by a child-welfare involved parent with an adoption
entity, the court is required to accept that consent as valid, binding, and enforceable and requires
the court to allow that adoption entity to intervene in the dependency case. 25 The intervention
process allows a child welfare-involved parent to potentially have his or her dependent child
removed from the child’s current judicially approved placement and subsequently placed with
and adopted by a person chosen by the child-welfare involved parent or adoption entity. Current
16
Section 63.032(3), F.S.
17
Section 39.811(2), F.S.; See generally Parts VIII and X of ch. 39, F.S.
18
Section 39.01(5), F.S.
19
Section 39.01(59), F.S., defines “permanency goal” to mean the living arrangement identified for the child to return to or
identified as the permanent living arrangement of the child. The permanency goal is also the case plan goal. If concurrent
case planning is being used, reunification may be pursued at the same time as another permanency goal is pursued. See also
Section 39.621(3), F.S.
20
Section 39.811(9)
21
Section 39.812(1), F.S.; See generally Parts VIII and X of ch. 39, F.S.
22
Section 63.022, F.S.
23
Section 63.022(5), F.S.
24
Chapter 2003-58, Laws of Fla., codified as s. 63.082(6), F.S.
25
Section 63.082(6)(a), F.S.; See also Rule 65C-16.019, Fla. Admin. Code.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1322 Page 5
law requires courts to notify child welfare-involved parents about the option of consent and
adoption through a private adoption entity at certain points in the dependency case, including
when it has been determined that reunification is not a viable permanency option and a case plan
goal of adoption has been added.26
After a child-welfare involved parent executes the valid and binding consent, the process is as
follows:
The court must permit the adoption entity to intervene in the dependency case.27
The adoption entity provides the court with a copy of the preliminary home study of the
prospective adoptive parents and any other evidence of the suitability of the proposed
placement.28 The home study must be deemed sufficient and no additional home study needs
to be performed by the DCF unless the court has concerns about the qualifications of the
home study provider or adequacy of the home study.29
The dependency court must hold a hearing to determine if the required documents to
intervene have been filed and whether a change in the child’s placement is in the best
interests of the child.30
After consideration of all relevant factors, if the court determines that the prospective
adoptive parent is properly qualified and the adoption is in the best interest of the minor
child, the court must promptly order transfer of custody of the minor child to the prospective
adoptive parents, under the supervision of the adoption entity.31 The court may establish
reasonable requirements for the transfer of custody, including time for a reasonable transition
from the child’s current placement to the new prospective adoptive placement.32
The adoption entity must keep the dependency court informed of the status of the adoption
proceedings at least every 90 days from the date of the order changing placement of the child
until the date the adoption is finalized.33
The court has always been required to consider certain factors to determine the best interest of
the child. Prior to 2016, the court was required to only consider the following factors:
Rights of the parent to determine an appropriate placement for the child;
Permanency offered;
Child's bonding with any potential adoptive home that the child has been residing in; and
Importance of maintaining sibling relationships, if possible.34
In 2016, the Legislature broadened these best interest factors to give more deference to the court
to make a best interest determination and better align the best interest factors in ch. 63, F.S., with
those already in ch. 39, F.S.35 To determine whether the transfer of custody and subsequent
26
Section 63.082(6)(g), F.S.
27
Section 63.082(6)(b), F.S.
28
Id.
29
Id.
30
Section 63.082(6)(c), F.S.
31
Section 63.082(6)(d), F.S.
32
Id.
33
Section 63.082(6)(f), F.S.
34
Chapter 2003-58 s. 15, Laws of Fla.
35
Chapter 2016-71 s. 2, Laws of Fla.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 1322 Page 6
adoption is in the best interest of the child, the court is required to consider and weigh all
relevant factors, including, but not limited to:
The permanency offered;
The established bonded relationship between the child and his or her current potential
adoptive caregiver with whom the child is residing;
The stability of the potential adoptive home in which the child currently resides and the
desirability of maintaining continuity of placement;
The importance of maintaining sibling relationships, if possible;
The reasonable preferences and wishes of the child, if the child is of sufficient maturity,
understanding, and experience to express a preference;
Whether a petition for termination of parental rights has been filed pursuant to certain
statutes;
What is best for the child; and
The right of a parent to determine an appropriate placement for the child.36
Florida courts have interpreted these 2016 changes differently.
Judicial Treatment of Adoption Intervention into Dependency Cases
The Florida Supreme Court has held that while a parent has a fundamental right to raise his or
her child, that right is not absolute and is “subject to the overriding principle that it is the
ultimate welfare or best interest of the child which must prevail.”37
Circuit Split
In W.K. v. Department of Children and Families,38 Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal
found that “it is not the court's role to determine which placem