(1) If the department is given custody of a child for subsequent adoption in accordance with this chapter, the department may place the child with an agency as defined in s. 63.032, with a child-caring agency registered under s. 409.176, or in a family home for prospective subsequent adoption. The department may thereafter become a party to any proceeding for the legal adoption of the child and appear in any court where the adoption proceeding is pending and consent to the adoption, and that consent alone shall in all cases be sufficient.
(2) In any subsequent adoption proceeding, the parents are not entitled to notice of the proceeding and are not entitled to knowledge at any time after the order terminating parental rights is entered of the whereabouts of the child or of the identity or location of any person having the custody of or having adopted the child, except as provided by order of the court pursuant to this chapter or chapter 63. In any habeas corpus or other proceeding involving the child brought by any parent of the child, an agent or contract provider of the department may not be compelled to divulge that information, but may be compelled to produce the child before a court of competent jurisdiction if the child is still subject to the guardianship of the department.
(3) The entry of the custody order to the department does not entitle the department to guardianship of the estate or property of the child, but the department shall be the guardian of the person of the child.
(4) The court shall retain jurisdiction over any child placed in the custody of the department until the child is adopted. After custody of a child for subsequent adoption has been given to the department, the court has jurisdiction for the purpose of reviewing the status of the child and the progress being made toward permanent adoptive placement. As part of this continuing jurisdiction, the court may:

(a) Review the appropriateness of the adoptive placement of the child if good cause is shown by the guardian ad litem for the child.
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Terms Used In Florida Statutes 39.812

  • Abuse: means any willful act or threatened act that results in any physical, mental, or sexual abuse, injury, or harm that causes or is likely to cause the child's physical, mental, or emotional health to be significantly impaired. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Adoption: means the act of creating the legal relationship between parent and child where it did not exist, thereby declaring the child to be legally the child of the adoptive parents and their heir at law, and entitled to all the rights and privileges and subject to all the obligations of a child born to the adoptive parents in lawful wedlock. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Circuit: means any of the 20 judicial circuits as set forth in…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Consent: means an agreement, including all of the following:
    1. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Department: means the Department of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Family: means a collective body of persons, consisting of a child and a parent, legal custodian, or adult relative, in which:
    (a) The persons reside in the same house or living unit; or
    (b) The parent, legal custodian, or adult relative has a legal responsibility by blood, marriage, or court order to support or care for the child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Guardian: means a relative, nonrelative, next of kin, or fictive kin who is awarded physical custody of a child in a proceeding brought pursuant to this chapter. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Legal custody: means a legal status created by a court which vests in a custodian of the person or guardian, whether an agency or an individual, the right to have physical custody of the child and the right and duty to protect, nurture, guide, and discipline the child and to provide him or her with food, shelter, education, and ordinary medical, dental, psychiatric, and psychological care. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Parent: means a woman who gives birth to a child and a man whose consent to the adoption of the child would be required under…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • Party: means the parent or parents of the child, the petitioner, the department, the guardian ad litem, and the child. See Florida Statutes 39.01
  • person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
(b) Review the department’s denial of an application to adopt a child. The department’s decision to deny an application to adopt a child is only reviewable under this section and is not subject to chapter 120.

1. If the department denies an application to adopt a child, the department must file written notification of the denial with the court and provide copies to all parties within 10 business days after the department’s decision.
2. A denied applicant may file a motion to have the court review the department’s denial within 30 business days after the issuance of the department’s written notification of its decision to deny the application to adopt a child. The motion to review must allege that the department unreasonably denied the application to adopt and request that the court allow the denied applicant to file a petition to adopt the child under chapter 63 without the department’s consent.
3. A denied applicant only has standing under this chapter to file a motion to review the department’s denial and to present evidence in support of such motion. Such standing is terminated upon the entry of the court’s order.
4. The court shall hold a hearing within 30 business days after the denied applicant files the motion to review. The court may only consider whether the department’s denial of the application is consistent with its policies and if the department made such decision in an expeditious manner. The standard of review is whether the department’s denial of the application is an abuse of discretion.
5. If the department selected a different applicant to adopt the child, the selected applicant may participate in the hearing as a participant, as defined in s. 39.01, and may be granted leave by the court to be heard without the need to file a motion to intervene.
6. Within 15 business days after the conclusion of the hearing, the court must enter a written order denying the motion to review or finding that the department unreasonably denied the application to adopt and authorizing the denied applicant to file a petition to adopt the child under chapter 63 without the department’s consent.
(5) When a licensed foster parent or court-ordered custodian has applied to adopt a child who has resided with the foster parent or custodian for at least 6 months and who has previously been permanently committed to the legal custody of the department and the department does not grant the application to adopt, the department may not, in the absence of a prior court order authorizing it to do so, remove the child from the foster home or custodian, except when:

(a) There is probable cause to believe that the child is at imminent risk of abuse or neglect;
(b) Thirty business days have expired following written notice to the foster parent or custodian of the denial of the application to adopt, within which period no formal challenge of the department’s decision has been filed;
(c) A motion to review the department’s denial of an application to adopt a child under paragraph (4)(b) has been denied; or
(d) The foster parent or custodian agrees to the child’s removal.
(6) The petition for adoption must be filed in the division of the circuit court which entered the judgment terminating parental rights, unless a motion for change of venue is granted pursuant to s. 47.122. A copy of the consent to adoption executed by the department must be attached to the petition, unless such consent is waived under s. 63.062(7). The petition must be accompanied by a statement, signed by the prospective adoptive parents, acknowledging receipt of all information required to be disclosed under s. 63.085 and a form provided by the department which details the social and medical history of the child and each parent and includes the social security number and date of birth for each parent, if such information is available or readily obtainable. The prospective adoptive parents may not file a petition for adoption until the judgment terminating parental rights becomes final. An adoption proceeding under this subsection is governed by chapter 63.
(7)(a) Once a child’s adoption is finalized, the community-based care lead agency must make a reasonable effort to contact the adoptive family by telephone 1 year after the date of finalization of the adoption as a postadoption service. For purposes of this subsection, the term “reasonable effort” means the exercise of reasonable diligence and care by the community-based care lead agency to make contact with the adoptive family. At a minimum, the agency must document all of the following:

1. The number of attempts made by the community-based care lead agency to contact the adoptive family and whether those attempts were successful.
2. The types of postadoption services that were requested by the adoptive family and whether those services were provided by the community-based care lead agency.
3. Any feedback received by the community-based care lead agency from the adoptive family relating to the quality or effectiveness of the services provided.
(b) The community-based care lead agency must report annually to the department on the outcomes achieved and recommendations for improvement under this subsection.
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