2024 Florida Legislation Effecting Foster Care
HB 1083/ SB 1486 is not good for children
Presented by Attorneys:
Juliana Gaita, Esq. and Alan Mishael, Esq.
Welcome to 2024 Florida Foster Care Proposed Bill Blog
What is HB 1083/ SB 1486
We've been here before. Each year the legislature in a misguided attempt to help foster children, limits the rights of foster parents and Court oversight of permanent placement. This bill is similar to past bills SB1206 (2021) and HB 1201, which were luckily defeated with your help!
read the bill here: PDF (flsenate.gov)
Why It Actually Harms Children
- There is a very bad and unnecessary piece of legislation that is being pushed to recapture control over ultimate adoption decision-making belonging to Juvenile Judges that was deliberately taken away from DCF in 2004 for good reason and by a nearly unanimous legislature and Governor Jeb Bush.
- As of now, foster parents and long term caregivers have the right to file a petition for adoption resulting in a judge reviewing the petition to determine if DCF has unreasonably withheld its consent to adopt the child in their care. This bill aims to remove that protection.
- This bill would require the filing of a motion to ask a judge if you can be allowed to file a petition. This is not seen in any part of our judicial system (civil, criminal or family) and is an assault on due process.
- It is deliberately designed to drive up the cost, inject needless delay and erect pointless hurdles in the path of relatives, caregivers and foster parents in getting in front of the Juvenile Judge their petition to adopt a dependent child and allow them to do so if the Judge rules that DCF is unreasonably withholding its adoptive consent.
- It is unfathomable that anyone could describe this bill as protecting children, when it will have the opposite effect.
- This Bill would, as a practical matter, wipe out the Florida Supreme Court’s agreement with the 2004 legislation.
- This bill strips foster parents, caregivers and relatives of one of their most precious statutory rights: the right -- without asking anyone else’s permission to merely file an adoption petition asking the juvenile judge to consider waiving DCF adoptive consent on the basis that DCF is unreasonably withholding consent.
- This Bill would turn back the clock to the dysfunction that prompted passage of the 2004 legislation in the first place.
- There is an old saying: "Don’t fix it, if it isn’t broken." This is a power grab. The people on the ground who care for these children on a day-to-day basis have had a relatively inexpensive and even-handed way to receive their day in court since 2004. No one is frozen out. Relatively few such cases are filed. For the sake of the children in the system who need more, rather than fewer, unalloyed eyes in the courtroom looking out for their well-being, this Bill must be defeated. We need your help.
What Can you do?
Trabulsy from Port St. Lucie and Collins District 14 are sponsoring the bill.
E-Mail Representative Dana Trabulsy (myfloridahouse.gov)
Email Senator Collins https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/S14
We have also created a letter that you can sign and we will send to local representatives. Fill in your information and the letter will be sent to you for your e-signature