HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 185 Dependent Children
SPONSOR(S): Appropriations Committee, Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee, Trabulsy and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/SB 1224
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY
CHIEF
1) Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee 13 Y, 4 N, As CS DesRochers Brazzell
2) Appropriations Committee 23 Y, 0 N, As CS Smith Pridgeon
3) Health & Human Services Committee 19 Y, 0 N DesRochers Calamas
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
When a child lives in an unsafe home as a victim of abuse, neglect, or abandonment, state officials temporarily
transfer the rights of physical custody to that child from the primary caregiver(s) to the Florida Department of
Children and Families. This event initiates the dependency court process. Early in the dependency court
process, the presiding judge evaluates whether the allegations of wrongdoing are well-founded and decides
whether guardian ad litem and attorney ad litem appointments are necessary.
The guardian ad litem serves as the child’s fiduciary representative in court to speak for the child’s best
interests. The “guardian ad litem” is typically a multidisciplinary team involving a lay volunteer, a staff attorney,
and a case manager. The court may appoint an attorney ad litem to serve as the child’s independent legal
representative in court to speak for the child’s express wishes.
CS/CS/HB 185 requires the appointment of a Guardian ad litem (GAL) at the earliest possible time to represent
a child throughout dependency proceedings, including appeals. The bill allows for representation of the child by
GAL in proceedings outside of dependency cases in order to secure services and benefits that provide for the
care, safety, and protection of the child.
The bill makes guardian ad litem appointment to a child mandatory. The bill expands the Statewide GAL
Office’s scope of duties. CS/CS/HB 185 also establishes the Fostering Prosperity grant program to help youth
transition from foster care to independent adult living and requires increased GAL involvement in, and court
attention to, ensuring a youth aging out of care has a permanent connection to a caring adult.
The bill has no fiscal impact on state and local governments. See Fiscal Comments.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2024.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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 FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Florida’s Child Welfare System
Chapter 39, F.S., creates the dependency system charged with protecting child welfare. The Florida
Legislature has declared four main purposes of the dependency system:1
 To provide for the care, safety, and protection of children in an environment that fosters healthy
social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development;
 To ensure secure and safe custody;
 To promote the health and well-being of all children under the state’s care; and
 To prevent the occurrence of child abuse, neglect, and abandonment.
Florida’s dependency system identifies children and families in need of services through reports to the
central abuse hotline and child protective investigations. The Department of Children and Families
(DCF) works with those families to address the problems endangering children, if possible. DCF’s
practice model is based on the safety of the child within the home by using in-home services, such as
parenting coaching and counseling, to maintain and strengthen that child’s natural supports in his or
her environment. If the problems are not addressed, the child welfare system finds safe out-of-home
placements for these children.
DCF contracts with community-based care lead agencies (CBCs) for case management, out-of-home
services, and related services. The outsourced provision of child welfare services is intended to
increase local community ownership of service delivery and design. CBCs in turn contract with a
number of subcontractors for case management and direct care services to children and their families.
DCF remains responsible for a number of child welfare functions, including operating the central abuse
hotline, performing child protective investigations, and providing children’s legal services. 2 Ultimately,
DCF is responsible for program oversight and the overall performance of the child welfare system. 3
During state fiscal year (SFY) 2022-23, there were a total of 618,916 Florida Abuse Hotline contacts for
potential child abuse and neglect, and 35 percent of those contacts were screened in because they met
criteria to trigger an investigation or assessment.4 Ultimately, 10 percent of children who were
investigated or assessed were found to be victims of maltreatment.5
Approximately 59,000 children statewide receive child welfare services. Of those children, roughly 48
percent are in in-home care and 52 percent are in out-of-home care.6
1 S. 39.001(1)(a), F.S.
2 OPPAGA, report 06-50.
3 Id.
4
Florida Department of Children and Families, Child Welfare Key Indicators Monthly Report Octob er 2023: A Results-Oriented
Accountab ility Report, Office of Child Welfare, p. 9 (Oct. 2023), https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2023-
11/KI_Monthly_Report_Oct2023.pdf (last visited Feb. 6, 2024).
5 Id.
6 Id.
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 Also for SFY 2022-23, DCF’s permanency report describes Florida’s performance for three cohorts of
children entering care (children in care within 12 months; children in care 12-23 months; and children in
care 24 months of longer).7 As the below chart illustrates, Florida’s performance for each cohort
generally declined over the past several years, with the children within the 12 months cohort declining
most notably and falling below national standards. 8
Dependency Case Process
7 Florida Department of Children and Families, Results-Oriented Accountability 2023 Annual Performance Report, Office of Quality and
Innovation, p. 26, (Nov. 21, 2023), https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2023-
11/ROA%20Annual%20Performance%20Report%202022-23.pdf (last visited Feb. 6, 2024).
8 Id.
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 When child welfare necessitates that DCF remove a child from the home, a series of dependency court
proceedings must occur to adjudicate the child dependent and place that child in out-of-home care.
Steps in the dependency process may include:
 A report to the Florida Abuse Hotline.
 A child protective investigation to determine the safety of the child.
 The court finding the child dependent.
 Case planning for the parents to address the problems resulting in their child’s dependency.
 Placement in out-of-home care, if necessary.
 Reunification with the child’s parent or another option to establish permanency, such as
adoption after termination of parental rights.9
The Dependency Court Process
Dependency Controlling
Description of Process
Proceeding Statute
A child protective investigation determines the child’s home is unsafe, and the
Removal s. 39.401, F.S.
child is removed.
A shelter hearing occurs within 24 hours after removal. The judge determines
Shelter Hearing s. 39.401, F.S.
whether to keep the child out-of-home.
Petition for A petition for dependency occurs within 21 days of the shelter hearing. This
s. 39.501, F.S.
Dependency petition seeks to find the child dependent.
Arraignment An arraignment and shelter review occurs within 28 days of the shelter hearing.
Hearing and This allows the parent to admit, deny, or consent to the allegations within the s. 39.506, F.S.
Shelter Review petition for dependency and allows the court to review any shelter placement.
Adjudicatory An adjudicatory trial is held within 30 days of arraignment. The judge determines
s. 39.507, F.S.
Trial whether a child is dependent during trial.
If the child is found dependent, disposition occurs within 15 days of arraignment
Disposition or 30 days of adjudication. The judge reviews the case plan and placement of s. 39.506, F.S.
Hearing the child. The judge orders the case plan for the family and the appropriate s. 39.521, F.S.
placement of the child.
The court may change temporary placement at a postdisposition hearing any
Postdisposition
time after disposition but before the child is residing in the permanent placement s. 39.522, F.S.
hearing
approved at a permanency hearing.
Judicial Review The court must review the case plan and placement every 6 months, or upon
s. 39.701, F.S.
Hearings motion of a party.
Once the child has been out-of-home for 12 months, if DCF determines that s. 39.802, F.S.
Petition for
reunification is no longer a viable goal, termination of parental rights is in the s. 39.8055, F.S.
Termination of
best interest of the child, and other requirements are met, a petition for s. 39.806, F.S.
Parental Rights
termination of parental rights is filed. s. 39.810, F.S.
This hearing is set as soon as possible after all parties have been served with
Advisory the petition for termination of parental rights. The hearing allows the parent to
s. 39.808, F.S.
Hearing admit, deny, or consent to the allegations within the petition for termination of
parental rights.
Adjudicatory An adjudicatory trial shall be set within 45 days after the advisory hearing. The
s. 39.809, F.S.
Hearing judge determines whether to terminate parental rights to the child at this trial.
The Florida Supreme Court’s Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure control procedural matters for
ch. 39 dependency proceedings unless otherwise provided by law. 10
9 The state has a compelling interest in providing stable and permanent homes for adoptive children in a prompt manner, in preventing
the disruption of adoptive placements, and in holding parents accountable for meeting the needs of children. S. 63.022, F.S.
10 s. 39.013(1), F.S.; Fla. R. Juv. P. 8.000.
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 Parties to Dependency Cases
The Florida Constitution requires that the courts “be open to every person for redress of any injury, and
justice shall be administered without sale, denial, or delay.” 11 Generally, persons with an interest in the
outcome of legal action, and who are necessary or proper to a complete resolution of the case, are
parties to the legal action.12
In ch. 39 court cases, the terms “party” and “parties” include the petitioner, the child who is the subject
of the dependency case, the child’s parent(s), DCF, the guardian ad litem, or the representative of the
guardian ad litem program (when appointed).13 Any party to a ch. 39 proceeding who is affected by a
court order may appeal to the appropriate appellate court. 14
Multidisciplinary Teams
The use of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) in child welfare settings is a concept that has been an
established practice for over 60 years with hospital-based child protection teams 15 and, more recently,
child advocacy centers.16 Because of the complex nature of child abuse and neglect investigations and
family assessments and interventions, MDTs are used to enhance and improve child protective
investigations and responses necessary for children and families to recover and succeed. MDT’s are
becoming more widely used to involve a variety of individuals, both professional and non-professional,
that interact and coordinate their efforts to plan for children and families receiving child welfare
services.
Using an MDT approach builds upon existing family-centered approaches to care. The use of a
strengths-based, family-centered multidisciplinary process is important in engaging children, youth and
families in the development and implementation of their individual case or treatment plans or other
related services designed to meet their needs.17 By sharing decision-making and working together, it is
more likely that positive and lasting outcomes will be achieved.18
MDTs can help eliminate, or at least reduce, many barriers to effective action, including a lack of
understanding by the members of one profession of the objectives, standards, conceptual bases, and
ethics of the others; lack of effective communication; confusion over roles and responsibilities;
interagency competition; mutual distrust; and institutional relationships that limit interprofessional
contact.19 As a result, a number of states 20 are using a MDT team model, also known as a “Child and
Family Team”. This model is premised on the notion that children and families have the capacity to
resolve their problems if given sufficient support and resources to help them do so. 21
Currently, Florida law and DCF rules provide for the use of MDT’s in a number of circumstances, such
as:
11 Art. I, s. 21, Fla. Const.
12
See Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.210(a).
13 S. 39.01(58), F.S.; Fla. R. Juv. P. 8.210(a).
14 S. 39.510(1), F.S.; S. 39.815(1), F.S.
15 The Kempe Foundation, Child Protection Team Celeb rates 60 Years, http://www.kempe.org/child-protection-team-celebrates-60-
years (last visited Feb. 6, 2024).
16
The National Children’s Alliance, History of NCA, https://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/history-of-
nca/#:~:text=The%20history%20of%20National%20Children's,system%20to%20help%20abused%20children (last visited Feb. 6,
2024).
17 The Kinship Center, The Importance of the Child and Family Team , http://www.kinshipcenter.org/about-kinship-center/news-and-
events/breaking-news/the-importance-of-the-child-and-family-team-cft.html (last visited Feb. 6, 2024).
18
Id.
19 National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, U.S. Children's Bureau, Administration for Children, Youth and Families, Office o f
Human Development Services, U.S. Department of Health, Education, an d Welfare, Multidisciplinary Teams In Child Ab use And
Neglect Programs, 1978, https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/51625NCJRS.pdf (last visited Feb. 6, 2024).
State of Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, Administrative Policies and Procedures: 31.7,
https://files.dcs.tn.gov/policies/chap31/31.7.pdf (last visited Feb. 6, 2024).
21 California Department of Social Services, Ab out Child and Family Teams, https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/foster-care/child-
and-family-teams/about (last visited Feb. 6, 2024).
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  Child Protection Teams under s. 39.303, F.S.;
 Child advocacy center multidisciplinary case review teams under s. 39.3035, F.S.;
 Initial placement decisions for a child who is placed in out-of-home care, changes in physical
custody after the child is placed in out-of-home care, changes in a child’s educational
placement, and any other important, complex decisions in the child’s life for which an MDT
would be necessary, under s. 39.4022, F.S.; and
 When a child is suspected of being a victim of human trafficking under ss. 39.524 and
409.175