The Florida Senate

39.411  Oaths, records, and confidential information.--

(1)  The judge, clerks or deputy clerks, or authorized agents of the department shall each have the power to administer oaths and affirmations.

(2)  The court shall make and keep records of all cases brought before it pursuant to this chapter and shall preserve the records pertaining to a dependent child until 10 years after the last entry was made, or until the child is 18 years of age, whichever date is first reached, and may then destroy them, except that records of cases where orders were entered permanently depriving a parent of the custody of a juvenile shall be preserved permanently. The court shall make official records, consisting of all petitions and orders filed in a case arising pursuant to this part and any other pleadings, certificates, proofs of publication, summonses, warrants, and other writs which may be filed therein.

(3)  The clerk shall keep all court records required by this part separate from other records of the circuit court. All court records required by this part shall not be open to inspection by the public. All records shall be inspected only upon order of the court by persons deemed by the court to have a proper interest therein, except that, subject to the provisions of s. 63.162, a child and the parents or legal custodians of the child and their attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and the department and its designees shall always have the right to inspect and copy any official record pertaining to the child. The court may permit authorized representatives of recognized organizations compiling statistics for proper purposes to inspect and make abstracts from official records, under whatever conditions upon their use and disposition the court may deem proper, and may punish by contempt proceedings any violation of those conditions.

(4)  All information obtained pursuant to this part in the discharge of official duty by any judge, employee of the court, authorized agent of the department, correctional probation officer, or law enforcement agent shall be confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and shall not be disclosed to anyone other than the authorized personnel of the court, the department and its designees, correctional probation officers, law enforcement agents, and others entitled under this chapter to receive that information, except upon order of the court.

(5)  All orders of the court entered pursuant to this chapter shall be in writing and signed by the judge, except that the clerk or deputy clerk may sign a summons or notice to appear.

(6)  No court record of proceedings under this chapter shall be admissible in evidence in any other civil or criminal proceeding, except that:

(a)  Orders permanently terminating the rights of a parent and committing the child to a licensed child-placing agency or the department for adoption shall be admissible in evidence in subsequent adoption proceedings relating to the child.

(b)  Records of proceedings under this part forming a part of the record on appeal shall be used in the appellate court in the manner hereinafter provided.

(c)  Records necessary therefor shall be admissible in evidence in any case in which a person is being tried upon a charge of having committed perjury.

(d)  Records of proceedings under this part may be used to prove disqualification pursuant to s. 435.06 and for proof regarding such disqualification in a chapter 120 proceeding.

History.--s. 20, ch. 78-414; s. 15, ch. 79-164; s. 3, ch. 87-238; s. 40, ch. 89-526; s. 7, ch. 90-208; s. 13, ch. 90-360; s. 16, ch. 91-57; s. 18, ch. 93-39; s. 32, ch. 95-228; s. 119, ch. 95-418; s. 3, ch. 96-268; s. 16, ch. 96-406.