Florida Senate - 2018                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 774
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì875002mÎ875002                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/21/2018           .                                
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Bean) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 41 - 651
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 63.092, Florida
    6  Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         63.092 Report to the court of intended placement by an
    8  adoption entity; at-risk placement; preliminary study.—
    9         (3) PRELIMINARY HOME STUDY.—Before placing the minor in the
   10  intended adoptive home, a preliminary home study must be
   11  performed by a licensed child-placing agency, a child-caring
   12  agency registered under s. 409.176, a licensed professional, or
   13  an agency described in s. 61.20(2), unless the adoptee is an
   14  adult or the petitioner is a stepparent or a relative. If the
   15  adoptee is an adult or the petitioner is a stepparent or a
   16  relative, a preliminary home study may be required by the court
   17  for good cause shown. The department is required to perform the
   18  preliminary home study only if there is no licensed child
   19  placing agency, child-caring agency registered under s. 409.176,
   20  licensed professional, or agency described in s. 61.20(2), in
   21  the county where the prospective adoptive parents reside. The
   22  preliminary home study must be made to determine the suitability
   23  of the intended adoptive parents and may be completed prior to
   24  identification of a prospective adoptive minor. A favorable
   25  preliminary home study is valid for 1 year after the date of its
   26  completion. Upon its completion, a signed copy of the home study
   27  must be provided to the intended adoptive parents who were the
   28  subject of the home study. A minor may not be placed in an
   29  intended adoptive home before a favorable preliminary home study
   30  is completed unless the adoptive home is also a licensed foster
   31  home under s. 409.175. The preliminary home study must include,
   32  at a minimum:
   33         (a) An interview with the intended adoptive parents;
   34         (b) Records checks of the department’s central abuse
   35  registry, which the department shall provide to the entity
   36  conducting the preliminary home study, and criminal records
   37  correspondence checks under s. 39.0138 through the Department of
   38  Law Enforcement on the intended adoptive parents;
   39         (c) An assessment of the physical environment of the home;
   40         (d) A determination of the financial security of the
   41  intended adoptive parents;
   42         (e) Documentation of counseling and education of the
   43  intended adoptive parents on adoptive parenting as determined by
   44  the entity conducting the preliminary home study. The training
   45  specified in s. 409.175(14) shall only be required for persons
   46  who adopt children from the department;
   47  
   48  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   49  And the title is amended as follows:
   50         Delete lines 3 - 36
   51  and insert:
   52         63.092, F.S.; requiring the Department of Children and
   53         Families to provide specified records to entities
   54         conducting preliminary home studies; limiting certain
   55         training requirements to persons who adopt children
   56         from the department; providing an