Florida Statutes 39.603 – Court approvals of case planning
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(1) All case plans and amendments to case plans must be approved by the court. At the hearing on the case plan, which shall occur in conjunction with the disposition hearing unless otherwise directed by the court, the court shall determine:
(a) All parties who were notified and are in attendance at the hearing, either in person or through a legal representative. The court may appoint a guardian ad litem under Rule 1.210, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, to represent the interests of any parent, if the location of the parent is known but the parent is not present at the hearing and the development of the plan is based upon the physical, emotional, or mental condition or physical location of the parent.
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 39.603
- Case plan: means a document, as described in…. See Florida Statutes 39.01
- Department: means the Department of Children and Families. See Florida Statutes 39.01
- Disposition hearing: means a hearing in which the court determines the most appropriate protections, services, and placement for the child in dependency cases. See Florida Statutes 39.01
- Out-of-home: means a placement outside of the home of the parents or a parent. 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
(b) If the plan is consistent with previous orders of the court placing the child in care.
(c) If the plan is consistent with the requirements for the content of a plan as specified in this chapter.
(d) In involuntary placements, whether each parent was notified of the right to counsel at each stage of the dependency proceedings, in accordance with the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure.
(e) Whether each parent whose location was known was notified of the right to participate in the preparation of a case plan and of the right to receive assistance from any other person in the preparation of the case plan.
(f) Whether the plan is meaningful and designed to address facts and circumstances upon which the court based the finding of dependency in involuntary placements or the plan is meaningful and designed to address facts and circumstances upon which the child was placed in out-of-home care voluntarily.
(2) When the court determines that any of the elements considered at the hearing related to the plan have not been met, the court shall require the parties to make necessary amendments to the plan under s. 39.6013. The amended plan must be submitted to the court for review and approval within 30 days after the hearing. A copy of the amended plan must also be provided to each party, if the location of the party is known, at least 3 business days before filing with the court.
(3) A parent who has not participated in the development of a case plan must be served with a copy of the plan developed by the department, if the parent can be located, at least 72 hours prior to the court hearing. Any parent is entitled to, and may seek, a court review of the plan prior to the initial judicial review and must be informed of this right by the department at the time the department serves the parent with a copy of the plan. If the location of an absent parent becomes known to the department, the department shall inform the parent of the right to a court review at the time the department serves the parent with a copy of the case plan.