The Florida Senate

415.50165  Definitions.--As used in this part:

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

(2)  "District" means any one of the 15 Department of Children and Family Services service districts established pursuant to s. 20.19.

(3)  "Family services response system" means a nonadversarial response to reports of child abuse and neglect, through a process of assessing the risk to the child and family and, when appropriate, delivering services to remove the risk to the child and support the integrity of a family.

(4)  "Health and human services boards" means those boards established under s. 20.19.

(5)  "Secretary" means the Secretary of Children and Family Services.

(6)  "Caregiver" means the biological or adoptive parent, adult household member, or other person responsible for a child's welfare as defined in ¹s. 415.503(13).

(7)  "Alleged juvenile sexual offender" means:

(a)  A juvenile 12 years of age or younger who is alleged to have committed a violation of chapter 794, chapter 796, chapter 800, s. 827.071, or s. 847.0133; or

(b)  A juvenile who is alleged to have committed any violation of law or delinquent act involving juvenile sexual abuse. "Juvenile sexual abuse" means any sexual behavior which occurs without consent, without equality, or as a result of coercion. For purposes of this paragraph, the following definitions apply:

1.  "Coercion" means the exploitation of authority, use of bribes, threats of force, or intimidation to gain cooperation or compliance.

2.  "Equality" means two participants operating with the same level of power in a relationship, neither being controlled nor coerced by the other.

3.  "Consent" means an agreement, including all of the following:

a.  Understanding what is proposed based on age, maturity, developmental level, functioning, and experience.

b.  Knowledge of societal standards for what is being proposed.

c.  Awareness of potential consequences and alternatives.

d.  Assumption that agreement or disagreement will be accepted equally.

e.  Voluntary decision.

f.  Mental competence.

Juvenile sexual offender behavior ranges from noncontact sexual behavior such as making obscene phone calls, exhibitionism, voyeurism, and the showing or taking of lewd photographs to varying degrees of direct sexual contact, such as frottage, fondling, digital penetration, rape, fellatio, sodomy, and various other sexually aggressive acts.

(8)  "Victim," for purposes of s. 415.50171, means any child who has sustained emotional, psychological, or physical injury identified in a report involving child-on-child sexual abuse.

History.--s. 3, ch. 93-25; s. 57, ch. 94-164; s. 7, ch. 95-266; s. 49, ch. 95-267; s. 131, ch. 97-101.

¹Note.--Redesignated as s. 415.503(12) by s. 43, ch. 95-228.