| 1 | The Committee on Judiciary recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to adoption; amending s. 39.812, F.S.; |
| 7 | restricting the ability of the Department of Children and |
| 8 | Family Services to remove a child from the home of a |
| 9 | foster parent or court-ordered custodian under certain |
| 10 | circumstances; providing an exception to a requirement |
| 11 | that a department consent be attached to an adoption |
| 12 | petition; amending s. 63.062, F.S.; requiring a waiver of |
| 13 | department consent under certain circumstances; providing |
| 14 | an effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 39.812, |
| 19 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 20 | 39.812 Postdisposition relief; petition for adoption.-- |
| 21 | (4) The court shall retain jurisdiction over any child |
| 22 | placed in the custody of the department until the child is |
| 23 | adopted. After custody of a child for subsequent adoption has |
| 24 | been given to the department, the court has jurisdiction for the |
| 25 | purpose of reviewing the status of the child and the progress |
| 26 | being made toward permanent adoptive placement. As part of this |
| 27 | continuing jurisdiction, for good cause shown by the guardian ad |
| 28 | litem for the child, the court may review the appropriateness of |
| 29 | the adoptive placement of the child. When a licensed foster |
| 30 | parent or court-ordered custodian has applied to adopt a child |
| 31 | who has resided with the foster parent or custodian for at least |
| 32 | 6 months and who has previously been permanently committed to |
| 33 | the legal custody of the department and the department does not |
| 34 | grant the application to adopt, the department may not, in the |
| 35 | absence of a prior court order authorizing it to do so, remove |
| 36 | the child from the foster home or custodian, except when: |
| 37 | (a) There is probable cause to believe that the child is |
| 38 | at imminent risk of abuse or neglect; |
| 39 | (b) Thirty days have expired following written notice to |
| 40 | the foster parent or custodian of the denial of the application |
| 41 | to adopt, within which period no formal challenge of the |
| 42 | department's decision has been filed; or |
| 43 | (c) The foster parent or custodian agrees to the child's |
| 44 | removal. |
| 45 | (5) The petition for adoption must be filed in the |
| 46 | division of the circuit court which entered the judgment |
| 47 | terminating parental rights, unless a motion for change of venue |
| 48 | is granted pursuant to s. 47.122. A copy of the consent executed |
| 49 | by the department as required under s. 63.062(7) must be |
| 50 | attached to the petition, unless the court determines that such |
| 51 | consent is being unreasonably withheld, provided that the |
| 52 | petitioner has filed with the court a favorable preliminary |
| 53 | adoptive home study performed by a licensed child-placing |
| 54 | agency, a child-caring agency registered under s. 409.176, or a |
| 55 | licensed professional or agency described in s. 61.20(2). The |
| 56 | petition must be accompanied by a form provided by the |
| 57 | department which details the social and medical history of the |
| 58 | child and each parent and includes the social security number |
| 59 | and date of birth for each parent, if such information is |
| 60 | available or readily obtainable. The person seeking to adopt the |
| 61 | child may not file a petition for adoption until the judgment |
| 62 | terminating parental rights becomes final. An adoption |
| 63 | proceeding under this subsection is governed by chapter 63, as |
| 64 | limited under s. 63.037. |
| 65 | Section 2. Subsection (7) of section 63.062, Florida |
| 66 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 67 | 63.062 Persons required to consent to adoption; affidavit |
| 68 | of nonpaternity; waiver of venue.-- |
| 69 | (7) If parental rights to the minor have previously been |
| 70 | terminated, the adoption entity with which the minor has been |
| 71 | placed for subsequent adoption may provide consent to the |
| 72 | adoption. In such case, no other consent is required. The |
| 73 | consent of the department shall be waived upon a determination |
| 74 | by the court that such consent is being unreasonably withheld, |
| 75 | provided that the petitioner has filed with the court a |
| 76 | favorable preliminary adoptive home study performed by a |
| 77 | licensed child-placing agency, a child-caring agency registered |
| 78 | under s. 409.176, or a licensed professional or agency described |
| 79 | in s. 61.20(2). |
| 80 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |