STORAGE NAME: h1191c.JDC
DATE: 4/8/2025
1
FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BILL ANALYSIS
This bill analysis was prepared by nonpartisan committee staff and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
BILL #: CS/HB 1191
TITLE: Supervision of Children
SPONSOR(S): Miller
COMPANION BILL: SB 1286 (Grall)
LINKED BILLS: None
RELATED BILLS: None
Committee References
Human Services
16 Y, 0 N, As CS
Judiciary
18 Y, 0 N
Health & Human Services
SUMMARY
Effect of the Bill:
HB 1191 permits a child’s caregiver to allow the child to engage in certain unsupervised activities, under certain
circumstances, if the child is of sufficient maturity and physical condition to do so, without triggering a child
welfare investigation. The bill clarifies that a caregiver’s failure or omission to provide his or her child with the
care, supervision, and services necessary to maintain the child’s physical and mental health must be “willful” to
constitute criminal child neglect.
Fiscal or Economic Impact:
The bill may have a negative impact on prison and jail beds due to the increased threshold required to constitute
criminal child neglect. The bill may have a positive fiscal impact on state courts due to the increased threshold
required to constitute civil child neglect.
JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
ANALYSIS
EFFECT OF THE BILL:
Florida’s Child Welfare System
Caregiver’s Neglect of a Child
Local news outlets across the country have publicized stories about how child welfare systems and criminal justice
systems are increasingly punishing caregivers for leaving their children without adult supervision or an
appropriate child care arrangement. Many caregivers balance the particular risks and benefits of leaving their
children unsupervised for short periods of time against the backdrop of abstract state laws.
1
HB 1191 decreases a caregiver’s exposure to child welfare oversight and criminal liability for allowing his or her
child to engage in certain independent, unsupervised activities which include, but are not limited to, traveling to or
from school by bicycle or on foot, traveling to nearby locations by bicycle or foot, playing outdoors, or remaining at
home or another location for a reasonable period of time. (Sections 1 and 2).
The bill clarifies that criminal liability extends to a caregiver who leaves a child unsupervised in such
circumstances only when the lack of supervision constitutes “willful and wanton” conduct that endangers the
health or safety of the child. The bill also clarifies that child welfare oversight by DCF extends to a caregiver who
leaves a child unsupervised only when the lack of supervision constitutes “reckless” conduct that endangers the
health or safety of the child, where the child is subjected to obvious danger which the caregiver knew or should
1 See Elise Solé, “When can kids stay home alone? Find out the law in your state,” Today, (Oct. 1, 2024)
https://www.today.com/parents/family/when-can-kids-stay-home-alone-rcna172938 (last visited Mar. 31, 2025). JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
2
have known about, or during which the child is unable to exercise “reasonable judgment” to avoid serious harm to
himself or herself. (Sections 1 and 2).
Current law criminalizes caregiver conduct as “child neglect” when he or she fails or omits to provide a child with
the care, supervision, and services necessary to maintain the child’s physical and mental health. The bill expressly
states that the caregiver’s failure or omission must be “willful.” (Section 2).
The bill reenacts s. 390.01114(2)(b), F.S., and s. 984.03(2), F.S., to incorporate the bill’s changes to the caregiver’s
exposure to child welfare oversight in child neglect cases involving the independent, unsupervised activities of his
or her child. (Sections 3 and 4).
The bill also reenacts s. 39.301(2)(b), F.S., to incorporate the bill’s changes to the caregiver’s exposure to criminal
liability in child neglect cases involving the independent, unsupervised activities of his or her child. (Section 5).
The effective date of the bill is July 1, 2025. (Section 6).
FISCAL OR ECONOMIC IMPACT:
STATE GOVERNMENT:
The bill may have a negative impact on prison beds due to the increased threshold required to constitute criminal
child neglect. The bill may have a positive fiscal impact on state courts due to the increased threshold required to
constitute civil child neglect.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT:
The bill may have a negative impact on jail beds due to the increased threshold required to constitute criminal
child neglect.
RELEVANT INFORMATION
SUBJECT OVERVIEW:
Florida’s Child Welfare System
Administered by the Department of Children and Families (DCF), Florida’s child welfare system seeks to:
Provide for the care, safety, and protection of children in an environment that fosters healthy social,
emotional, intellectual, and physical development;
Ensure secure and safe custody;
Promote the health and well-being of all children under the state’s care; and
Prevent the occurrence of child abuse, neglect, and abandonment.
2
Community-Based Care Lead Agencies (CBCs)
DCF outsources some child protection and child welfare services to 16 community based-care lead agencies
(CBCs).
3 CBCs organize services such as family preservation, mental health services, case management, emergency
2 S. 39.001(1)(a), F.S.
3 S. 409.986, F.S. JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
3
shelter, foster care, residential group care, postplacement supervision, independent living, and permanency.
4 CBCs
may subcontract case management and direct care services to other provider groups under certain conditions.
5
Meanwhile, DCF retains direct control over a number of child welfare functions, including operating the central
abuse hotline, performing child protective investigations, and providing children’s legal services.
6 Ultimately, DCF
must ensure children receive appropriate, quality care.
7 For Fiscal Year 2023-2024, the child welfare system
served 55,092 children with family support services, in-home child protective services, or out-of-home care.
8
Child Protection Investigations
Child Abuse Hotline
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) operates a 24/7 central abuse hotline to receive reports of known
or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect and of situations where the child needs supervision and care in
the absence of an immediately known and available parent, legal custodian, or responsible adult relative.
9 Florida
is a mandatory reporter state, and a knowledgeable and willful failure to report constitutes a third-degree felony.
10
Notwithstanding mandatory reporting, members of the general public may make reports anonymously.
11 For Fiscal
Year 2023-2024, DCF received 323,182 total hotline reports and special conditions contacts.
12,13
Child Maltreatment Index
DCF’s Child Abuse Hotline operators screen inbound reports through the Child Maltreatment Index (Index) to
determine if a report of abuse, abandonment, or neglect meets the criteria for verifying child maltreatment. The
Index, intended to guide consistent and accurate decision-making, defines each maltreatment, factors to consider
in the assessment of each maltreatment, and also frequently correlated maltreatments. The table below itemizes
the maltreatment events that may be assigned to an inbound report of child abuse, neglect, or abandonment.
14
4 S. 409.986(3), F.S.
5 S. 409.988(1)(j), F.S. Current law requires a CBC to recruit other provider groups when the CBC seeks DCF’s approval for an exemption to
exceed the 35% cap on the direct provision of child welfare services. Current law conditions the exemption upon a showing that the CBC’s
geographic service area still lacks a qualified provider after the CBC’s good faith recruitment efforts. s. 409.988(1)(j). F.S.
6 S. 409.996, F.S.
7 Ss. 409.986(1)(b), F.S., 409.996, F.S., 409.997, F.S.
8 Department of Children and Families, “A Comprehensive, Multi-Year Review of the Revenues, Expenditures, and Financial Position of All
Community-Based Care Lead Agencies with System of Care Analysis: State Fiscal Years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024”, p. 12 (Dec. 1, 2024)
https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2024-12/2024%20Multi-
Year%20Review%20of%20Financial%20Position%20for%20Lead%20Agencies%20Report.pdf (last visited Feb. 2, 2025).
9 S. 39.101(1)(a), F.S.
10 S. 39.205(1), F.S. However, the court exempts a victim of domestic violence or persons experiencing other mitigating circumstances from
the mandatory reporting requirements. s. 39.205(2), F.S.
11 S. 39.201(1), F.S. Current law requires health care practitioners, school personnel, social workers, professional child care workers, law
enforcement officers, judges, animal control officers to identify themselves. However, their identities are kept confidential and exempt from
public records disclosure.
12 Department of Children and Families, “A Comprehensive, Multi-Year Review of the Revenues, Expenditures, and Financial Position of All
Community-Based Care Lead Agencies with System of Care Analysis: State Fiscal Years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024”, p. 12 (Dec. 1, 2024)
https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2024-12/2024%20Multi-
Year%20Review%20of%20Financial%20Position%20for%20Lead%20Agencies%20Report.pdf (last visited Mar. 5, 2025).
13 Special condition referrals do not constitute willful abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Instead, special conditions referrals arise when a
caregiver experiences incarceration, hospitalization, or death and there is no plan of immediate care for the child. Special condition referrals
also include caregiver difficulty in caring for the child to a degree that makes impending danger likely. DCF also treats foster care referrals
and reports of child-on-child abuse as special condition referrals. R. 65C-30.001(115), F.A.C.
14
Florida Department of Children and Families, CFOP 170-4, available at: https://prod.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2024-
05/CFOP%20170-04%20Child%20Maltreatment%20Index.pdf (last visited Mar. 30, 2025). JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
4
Child Maltreatment Index
Abandonment Asphyxiation Bizarre Punishment Bone Fracture
Burns Death Environmental Hazards Failure to Protect
Failure to Thrive
(includes malnutrition
and dehydration)
Household Violence
Threatening to Child
Human Trafficking – Commercial
Exploitation of Children
Human Trafficking –
Labor
Inadequate
Supervision
Internal Injuries
Intimate Partner Violence
Threatening to Child
Medical Neglect
Mental Injury Physical Injury Sexual Abuse: Sexual Battery
Sexual Abuse: Sexual
Exploitation
Sexual Abuse: Sexual
Molestation
Substance-Exposed
Newborn
Substance Misuse
Substance Misuse —
Alcohol
Substance Misuse —
Illicit Drugs
Substance Misuse —
Prescription Drugs
Threatened Harm
(Intentionally Left
Blank)
Verification
Once DCF’s Child Abuse Hotline receives a report, the Hotline operator must determine if the report meets the
statutory criteria for abuse, abandonment, or neglect, which the table below depicts.
15
Offense Statutory Criteria (For Dependency Proceedings – Not Criminal Proceedings)
Child Abuse Any willful act or threatened act that:
- Results in physical injury,
16 mental injury,
17 or sexual injury;
18 or
- Results in harm
19 that causes or is likely to cause significant impairment of the
child’s physical, mental, or emotional health.
Child
Abandonment
While being able to do so, the caregiver:
- Fails to make a significant contribution to the child’s care and maintenance; or
- Fails to establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship with the child.
Includes infrequent/irregular visitation or communication with the child.
Includes the failure to exercise parental rights and responsibilities.
Child Neglect The active or passive deprivation of necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment;
or the child’s living environment causes significant impairment, or creates a danger of
significant impairment, to the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health.
Financial inability does not count (unless the parent rejected an offer of relief).
15 Ss. 39.01(1), F.S. 39.01(2), F.S., 39.01(53), F.S.; s. 39.201(4), F.S. Child abuse includes acts or omissions.
16 Physical injury means the death, permanent or temporary disfigurement, or impairment of any bodily part. s. 39.01(66), F.S.
17 Mental injury means an injury to the intellectual or psychological capacity of a child as evidenced by a discernable and substantial
impairment in the ability to function within the normal range of performance and behavior. s. 39.01(51), F.S.
18 While sexual injury lacks a chapter-wide definition, sexual abuse of a child covers the offenses listed under s. 39.01(80), F.S.
19 S. 39.01(37), F.S. Harm to a child’s health or welfare can occur when any person:
- Inflicts or allows to be inflicted upon the child physical mental or emotional injury (e.g., willful acts that produce statutorily
enumerated injuries; purposefully furnishing poison, alcohol, drugs, or related substances; leaving the child without adult
supervision or an appropriate arrangement; inappropriate or excessively harsh disciplinary action).
- Commits or allows to be committed sexual battery or lewd/lascivious acts against the child.
- Allows, encourages, or forces the sexual exploitation of a child.
- Exploits, or allows to be exploited, the child’s labor so that the child unjustifiably suffers or is endangered.
- Abandons the child.
- Neglects the child. JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
5
If the report meets one or more of these statutory criteria, then the Hotline operator accepts the report as a
verified maltreatment event, opens a new (or reopens an existing case file)
20 for the child, and refers the report for
investigation by a DCF Child Protection Investigator (CPI).
21
For FY 2023-24, DCF verified 185,390 maltreatment reports meeting the statutory requirements to open an
investigation.
22
Current law requires DCF to refer allegations of criminal conduct to the municipality or county law enforcement
agency of the municipality or county in which the alleged conduct has occurred. This means DCF must inform law
enforcement when it knows or suspects a child is a victim of child abuse or neglect to the extent it constitutes a
crime, pursuant to s. 827.03, F.S. If the law enforcement agency accepts the case for a criminal investigation, the
law enforcement agency and DCF must coordinate their respective investigative activities, as feasible.
23
Caregiver’s Neglect of a Child
Criminal Liability
A caregiver may be criminally liable for child neglect if he or she fails to provide a child with the care, supervision,
and services necessary to maintain the child’s physical and mental health. These necessary quality of life items
include, but are not limited to, food, nutrition, clothing, shelter, supervision, medicine, and medical services that a
prudent person would consider essential for the child’s well-being. A caregiver may also be criminally liable if he or
she fails to make a reasonable effort to protect a child from abuse, neglect, or exploitation by another person.
24
Current law authorizes a finding of criminal neglect of a child based on a pattern of conduct or on a single incident
or omission that results in, or could reasonably be expected to result in, serious physical or mental injury, or a
substantial risk of death, to a child.
25
A caregiver commits a third-degree felony
26 if he or she willfully, or by culpable negligence, neglects a child without
causing great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the child.
27 A caregiver commits a
second-degree felony
28 if he or she willfully, or by culpable negligence, neglects a child and, in doing so, causes
great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the child.
29
Civil Liability
- Exposes the child to a controlled substance or alcohol.
- Uses mechanical devices, unreasonable restraints, or extended periods of isolation to control a child.
- Engages in violent behavior that demonstrates wanton disregard for the presence of a child and could reasonably result in serious
injury to the child.
- Negligently fails to protect a child in his or her care from inflicted physical, mental, or sexual injury caused by the acts of another.
- Allowed a child’s sibling to die as a result of abuse, abandonment, or neglect.
- Makes the child unavailable for the purpose of impeding or avoiding a protective investigation unless the court determines that the
parent, legal custodian, or caregiver was fleeing from a situation involving domestic violence.
20 DCF maintains single, standard electronic child welfare case file for each child whose report is accepted by the central abuse hotline for
investigation. s. 39.301(3), F.S.
21 s. 39.201(4), F.S.
22 Department of Children and Families, “A Comprehensive, Multi-Year Review of the Revenues, Expenditures, and Financial Position of All
Community-Based Care Lead Agencies with System of Care Analysis: State Fiscal Years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024”, p. 12 (Dec. 1, 2024)
https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2024-12/2024%20Multi-
Year%20Review%20of%20Financial%20Position%20for%20Lead%20Agencies%20Report.pdf (last visited Mar. 5, 2025).
23 S. 39.301(2), F.S.
24 S. 827.03(1)(e), F.S.
25 S. 827.03(1)(e), F.S.
26 A third-degree felony conviction, without any enhancements, carries a term of imprisonment not exceeding 5 years and, or, a fine not
exceeding $5,000. s. 775.082(3)(e), F.S., s. 775.083(1)(c), F.S.
27 S. 827.03(2)(d), F.S.
28 A second-degree felony conviction, without any enhancements, carries a term of imprisonment not exceeding 15 years and, or, a fine not
exceeding $10,000. s. 775.082(3)(d), F.S., s. 775.083(1)(b), F.S.
29 S. 827.03(2)(b), F.S. JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
6
The Supreme Court of Florida has held that, as a general principle, that a person does not have a legal duty to
proactively act to protect or aid another person unless a special relationship exists which creates such a duty.
30, 31 A
special relationship exists between a caregiver and a child, which means the caregiver is legally bound to act with
reasonable care towards the child who needs protection or aid.
32
Harm to the Child
In Chapter 39, F.S., harm to a child’s health or welfare generally covers a person’s wrongful acts and omissions
towards the child that causes physical, mental, or emotional injury. Current law requires DCF and the courts to
consider certain factors to determine if a person is liable for harming a child: the child’s age, the child’s prior
history of injuries, the location of the injury on the child’s body, the multiplicity of the child’s injuries, and the type
of trauma the child experienced.
33
Current law names many injurious acts towards a child that constitute harm, one of which is the lack of adult
supervision or an appropriate arrangement for the specific child, considering the child’s age, mental condition, and
physical condition. The lack of adult supervision or an appropriate child care arrangement creates an environment
for harm if at least one of the following three scenarios are also true:
34
1. The child lacks the ability to care for his or own needs;
2. The caregiver knowingly, or should have known that he or she, subjects the child to an obvious danger; or
3. The child lacks the ability to exercise good judgment to avoid serious harm to self or others.
This analysis of harm directly informs DCF and the dependency court on how to evaluate civil allegations of child
abuse
35 and child neglect.
36
Leaving a Child Unsupervised
A caregiver who leaves his or her child unsupervised, either without adult supervision or an appropriate child care
arrangement, must recognize both the reasonable and unreasonable risks of harm to the child and others.
37
The caregiver’s risk assessment is innately a balancing test which weighs the magnitude of the risk of harm to the
child against the utility of the caregiver’s reason to leave the child unsupervised, which the table below depicts.
38
Negligence Balancing Test: Leaving a Child Unsupervised
Risk Magnitude Factors Utility Factors
30 See Limones v. Sch. Dist. of Lee Cty., 161 So.3d 384, 390 (Fla. 2015).
31 See s. 2.01, F.S. Florida law includes a certain collection of unwritten law. This body of law, codified by legislative act in 1829, reaches back
in time to grab most British common law (i.e., judge-made law) and British statutory laws which were in effect in England on July 4, 1776.
However, the Florida Legislature added an indispensable caveat, which is the Florida Constitution, the laws of the United States, and the acts
of the Florida Legislature control in the event of conflict with British law. This historical context is necessary to understand principles of
liability governing the caregiver-child relationship, with respect to their conduct towards one another and towards the outside world.
English courts, and subsequently American courts, developed a long line of precedent regarding the caregiver-child relationship, which the
American Law Institute distilled into one voluminous canon, the current edition of which is called the Restatement (Second) on Torts. When
Florida’s judges resolve a caregiver-child relationship legal issue relating to allegations of harm and neglect, they will look to Florida law
first, judicial precedent second, and the Restatement as necessary (i.e., if a lawsuit requires a judge to consider untested legal arguments for
the first time).
32
See Limones v. Sch. Dist. of Lee Cty., 161 So.3d 384, 390 (Fla. 2015); see Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 314A Special Relations Giving Rise
to Duty to Aid or Protect. (1965). (October 2024 Update). (Accessed Westlaw Mar. 30, 2025
33 S. 39.01(37)(a), F.S.
34 S. 39.01(37)(a), F.S.
35 S. 39.01(2) F.S.
36 S. 39.01(37)(f), F.S.
37 See Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 289 Recognizing Existence of Risk and § 302A Risk of Negligence or Recklessness of Others. (1965).
(October 2024 Update). (Accessed Westlaw Mar. 30, 2025).
38
See Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 292 Factors Considered in Determining Utility of Actor’s Conduct and § 293 Factors Considering in
Determining Magnitude of Risk. (1965). (October 2024 Update). (Accessed Westlaw Mar. 30, 2025). JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
7
- Social Value of the Child’s Health and
Well-Being
- Likelihood of Harm to the Child
- Extent of Harm Likely to Occur to Child
- Likelihood of Harm to Other Persons
- Social Value of the Caregiver’s Reason
to Leave the Child Unsupervised
- Likelihood that the Caregiver Advances
His or Her Purpose
- Likelihood that the Caregiver Can
Adequately Advance His or Her
Purpose through Another and Less
Dangerous Means.
If the risk of harm towards the child exceeds the benefit to the caregiver of leaving the child unsupervised, the
caregiver has a legal duty to proactively take precautionary measures to avoid harm to the child. The risk level
increases if the child is irresponsible and decreases if the child is competent, responsible, and aware of risks.
39 This
duty to act for the protection of the child and others applies irrespective of the gravity of the danger at issue and
the insignificance of the trouble, effort, or expense of providing aid or protection.
40 However, this duty to act is also
only applicable to risks within the caregiver’s control.
41
Duty to Control Conduct of a Child
A caregiver has a legal duty to exercise reasonable care to control his or her child to prevent the child from
intentionally harming others and creating an unreasonable risk of bodily harm to others.
42 Although the nature of a
caregiver-child relationship in of itself does not make the caregiver liable for a child’s act of wrongdoing, the
Supreme Court of Florida has articulated four exceptions to this general requirement, which are as follows:
1. The caregiver entrusts the child with an instrumentality which, because of the child’s lack of age, judgment,
or experience, may become a source of danger to others;
2. The child acts as an agent of the caregiver to commit the act of wrongdoing;
3. The caregiver consents, directs, or sanctions the tort; and
4. The caregiver fails to exercise control when he or she knows or should know that an injury to another is
possible.
The Supreme Court of Florida has interpreted the fourth exception narrowly, to cover the caregiver’s knowledge of
the child’s particular habits that have, or likely will cause, an injury.
43
39 See Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 302A Risk of Negligence or Recklessness of Others, comments d. and e., (1965). (October 2024
Update). (Accessed Westlaw Mar. 30, 2025).
40 See Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 314 Duty to Act for Protection of Others, comment c., (1965). (October 2024 update). (Accessed
Westlaw Mar. 30, 2025).
41 See Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 314 Duty to Act for Protection of Others, comment d., (1965). (October 2024 update). (Accessed
Westlaw Mar. 30, 2025).
42 See Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 316 Duty of Parent to Control Conduct of Child, (1965). (October 2024 update). (Accessed Westlaw
Mar. 30, 2025).
43 Perez v. Rodriguez, 204 So.3d 92, 96 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016); Snow v. Nelson, 475 So.2d 225, 226 (Fla. 1985); Gissen v. Goodwill, 80 So.2d 701,
703, 705 (Fla. 1955). JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
8
BILL HISTORY
COMMITTEE REFERENCE ACTION DATE
STAFF
DIRECTOR/
POLICY CHIEF
ANALYSIS
PREPARED BY
Human Services Subcommittee 16 Y, 0 N, As CS 4/1/2025 Mitz DesRochers
THE CHANGES ADOPTED BY THE
COMMITTEE:
Amends the “unable to exercise minimally acceptably judgment”
standard of harm for leaving children unsupervised to the “reasonable
judgment” standard.
Amends the “grossly negligent” standard of child neglect for leaving
children unsupervised to be “reckless conduct.” standard.
Judiciary Committee 18 Y, 0 N Kramer Mathews
Health & Human Services
Committee
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THIS BILL ANALYSIS HAS BEEN UPDATED TO INCORPORATE ALL OF THE CHANGES DESCRIBED ABOVE.
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