Florida 2025 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H1533 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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3	3	HB 1533 2025
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10	10	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to siblings placed in out -of-home 2
16	16	care; amending s. 39.4024, F.S.; providing for the 3
17	17	importance of visitation, and not just contact, 4
18	18	between siblings who have been separated; authorizing 5
19	19	a sibling who is separated from his or her other 6
20	20	siblings to file a specified motion; providing 7
21	21	standing; requiring the court to hold a hearing, take 8
22	22	evidence, and hear arguments if a motion for sibling 9
23	23	visitation or contact is contested; prohibiting the 10
24	24	court from denying such a motion unless certain 11
25	25	circumstances exist; requiring the immediate provision 12
26	26	of certain services under certain circumstances; 13
27	27	authorizing certain parties to appeal the court order 14
28	28	in a specified manner; prohibiting a court from 15
29	29	restricting sibling visitation or contact without the 16
30	30	need for a motion; amending s. 39.6221, F.S.; 17
31	31	providing that a court retains jurisdiction over a 18
32	32	dependent child in a permanent guardianship for 19
33	33	certain purposes relating to sibling visitation or 20
34	34	contact; amending s. 63.0427, F.S.; prohibiting the 21
35	35	court from denying postadoption visitation or contact 22
36	36	between siblings unless certain circumstances exist; 23
37	37	requiring the immediate provision of certain services 24
38	38	under certain circumstances; specifying that certain 25
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40	40	HB 1533 2025
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47	47	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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49	49
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51	51	factors must be considered for postadoption visitati on 26
52	52	or contact between an adopted child and certain 27
53	53	persons; providing that a court retains jurisdiction 28
54	54	over an adopted child for certain purposes until the 29
55	55	child is a specified age; amending s. 63.093, F.S.; 30
56	56	revising the required response the Department o f 31
57	57	Children and Families or a community -based care lead 32
58	58	agency must provide to a prospective adoptive parent; 33
59	59	providing an effective date. 34
60	60	35
61	61	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 36
62	62	37
63	63	Section 1. Subsection (4), paragraph (b) of subsec tion 38
64	64	(5), and paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (6) of section 39
65	65	39.4024, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 40
66	66	39.4024 Placement of siblings; visitation; continuing 41
67	67	contact.— 42
68	68	(4) MAINTAINING VISITATION OR CONTACT WHEN SIBLINGS ARE 43
69	69	SEPARATED.— 44
70	70	(a) Regular visitation or contact among a sibling group 45
71	71	that cannot be placed together, especially among siblings with 46
72	72	existing attachments to each other, is critical for the siblings 47
73	73	to maintain their existing bonds and relationships or to develop 48
74	74	such bonds and attachments, if appropriate. The following 49
75	75	practices must be considered in helping to maintain or 50
76	76
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84	84	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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86	86
87	87
88	88	strengthen the relationships of separated siblings: 51
89	89	1. Respect and support the child's ties to his or her 52
90	90	birth or legal family, including parents, sibl ings, and extended 53
91	91	family members, must be provided by the caregiver, and he or she 54
92	92	must assist the child in maintaining allowable visitation and 55
93	93	other forms of communication. The department and lead agency 56
94	94	shall provide a caregiver with the information, g uidance, 57
95	95	training, and support necessary for fulfilling this 58
96	96	responsibility. 59
97	97	2. Provide adequate support to address any caregiver 60
98	98	concerns and to enhance the caregiver's ability to facilitate 61
99	99	visitation or contact between siblings who are not in the same 62
100	100	out-of-home placement and promote the benefits of sibling 63
101	101	contact. 64
102	102	3. Prioritize placements with kinship caregivers who have 65
103	103	an established personal relationship with each child so that 66
104	104	even when siblings cannot be placed together in the same home, 67
105	105	kinship caregivers are more likely to facilitate visitation or 68
106	106	contact. 69
107	107	4. Prioritize placement of siblings geographically near 70
108	108	each other, such as in the same neighborhood or school district, 71
109	109	to make it easier for the siblings to have regular visitation or 72
110	110	contact see each other regularly . 73
111	111	5. Encourage frequent and regular visitation, if the 74
112	112	siblings choose to do so, to allow the children to be actively 75
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121	121	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
122	122
123	123
124	124
125	125	involved in each other's lives and to participate in 76
126	126	celebrations, including, but not limited to, birthd ays, 77
127	127	graduations, holidays, school and extracurricular activities, 78
128	128	cultural customs, and other milestones. 79
129	129	6. Provide other forms of contact when regular in -person 80
130	130	meetings are not possible or are not sufficient to meet the 81
131	131	needs or desires of the siblin gs, such as maintaining frequent 82
132	132	contact through letters, e -mail, social media, cards, or 83
133	133	telephone calls. 84
134	134	7. Coordinate, when possible, joint outings or summer or 85
135	135	weekend camp experiences to facilitate time together, including, 86
136	136	but not limited to, activ ities or camps specifically designed 87
137	137	for siblings in out-of-home care. 88
138	138	8. Encourage joint respite care to assist the caregivers 89
139	139	who are caring for separated siblings to have needed breaks 90
140	140	while also facilitating visitation or contact among the 91
141	141	siblings, including, but not limited to, providing babysitting 92
142	142	or respite care for each other. A child being moved temporarily 93
143	143	as respite care for the purpose of providing the primary 94
144	144	caregiver relief and encouraging and facilitating visitation or 95
145	145	contact among the siblings does not constitute a placement 96
146	146	change or require the convening of a multidisciplinary team. 97
147	147	9. Prohibit the withholding of communication or visitation 98
148	148	or contact among the siblings as a form of punishment. 99
149	149	(b)1. A sibling who is separated from his or her other 100
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158	158	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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160	160
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162	162	siblings due to a placement or adoption made pursuant to this 101
163	163	chapter may file a motion for sibling visitation or contact in a 102
164	164	court with jurisdiction over one or more of the siblings. A 103
165	165	sibling within a sibling group has standing to file such motion, 104
166	166	obtain discovery, present evidence, and make arguments in 105
167	167	support of the request for sibling visitation or contact 106
168	168	regardless of his or her status as a party or participant in the 107
169	169	case for which the motio n was filed. 108
170	170	2. If a motion for sibling visitation or contact is 109
171	171	contested, the court must hold a hearing, take evidence, and 110
172	172	hear arguments from all of the siblings in the sibling group and 111
173	173	the parties. The court may not deny a motion for sibling 112
174	174	visitation or contact unless it finds by clear and convincing 113
175	175	evidence that such visitation or contact is contrary to the 114
176	176	safety and well-being of one or more of the siblings. The court 115
177	177	must render a written order of its decision. If the court denies 116
178	178	sibling visitation or contact, but services are available which 117
179	179	would reasonably be expected to ameliorate the risk to the 118
180	180	sibling's safety or well -being, the court must direct the 119
181	181	department or the community -based care lead agency to provide 120
182	182	such services immediatel y in order to restore visitation or 121
183	183	contact between the siblings. 122
184	184	3. A sibling, a party to the proceeding who is affected by 123
185	185	a court order issued under this paragraph, or the department may 124
186	186	appeal the court's decision to the appropriate district court of 125
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195	195	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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197	197
198	198
199	199	appeal with the time and in the manner prescribed by the Florida 126
200	200	Rules of Appellate Procedure. 127
201	201	(c)(b) Regardless of whether a motion is filed under 128
202	202	paragraph (b), the court may not limit or restrict communication 129
203	203	or visitation or contact under this subsection unless there is a 130
204	204	finding that the communication or visitation or contact between 131
205	205	the child and his or her siblings is contrary to the safety or 132
206	206	well-being of the child. If the court makes such a finding, and 133
207	207	services are available that would reason ably be expected to 134
208	208	ameliorate the risk to the child's safety or well -being that are 135
209	209	the basis of the court's finding and that may result in the 136
210	210	communication and visitation or contact being restored, the 137
211	211	court must direct the department or community -based care lead 138
212	212	agency to immediately provide such services. 139
213	213	(5) SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS. — 140
214	214	(b) If a child in a sibling group who has been placed in 141
215	215	an out-of-home care placement with his or her siblings does not 142
216	216	adjust to the placement, the lead agency must prov ide services 143
217	217	to the caregiver and sibling group in accordance with s. 144
218	218	39.4023(3) to try to prevent the disruption of the placement. If 145
219	219	after reasonable efforts are made under s. 39.4023(3), the child 146
220	220	still has not adjusted to the out -of-home placement, a 147
221	221	multidisciplinary team staffing must be convened to determine 148
222	222	what is best for all of the children. The multidisciplinary team 149
223	223	shall review the current placement of the sibling group and 150
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232	232	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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234	234
235	235
236	236	choose a plan that will be least detrimental to each child. If 151
237	237	the team determines that the best decision is to move the child 152
238	238	who has not adjusted to a new out -of-home placement, the team 153
239	239	must develop a transition plan in accordance with ss. 39.4022 154
240	240	and 39.4023 which ensures the opportunity for the siblings to 155
241	241	maintain visitation or contact in accordance with subsection (4) 156
242	242	of this section. 157
243	243	(6) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS AND CONSIDERATIONS. — 158
244	244	(b)1. If a child's sibling is also in out -of-home care and 159
245	245	such sibling leaves out -of-home care due to emancipation or 160
246	246	reunification with his or her parent or guardian, the child must 161
247	247	be allowed visitation or contact to communicate with that 162
248	248	emancipated or reunified sibling, if the emancipated sibling or 163
249	249	the reunified sibling and his or her parent consent. 164
250	250	2. If a child's sibling is al so in out-of-home care and 165
251	251	such sibling leaves out -of-home care for any reason, including, 166
252	252	but not limited to, the reasons in subparagraph 1. and 167
253	253	visitation or contact communication is not occurring, the child 168
254	254	has a right to have the court consider the app ropriateness of 169
255	255	continued visitation or contact communication with his or her 170
256	256	sibling. The court shall consider the recommendation of the 171
257	257	department or community -based care lead agency and any other 172
258	258	information deemed relevant by the court. 173
259	259	3. If a child's sibling leaves out -of-home care because he 174
260	260	or she is adopted, the child may be allowed to have continued 175
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269	269	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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271	271
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273	273	visitation or contact communication with the sibling either by 176
274	274	consent of the adoptive parent or by order of the court in 177
275	275	accordance with subsection (4) or s. 63.0427. 178
276	276	(c) The department or the lead agency must document in 179
277	277	writing any decision to separate siblings in the case file as 180
278	278	required in s. 39.00146 and document the decision in the Florida 181
279	279	Safe Families Network. The documentation must includ e any 182
280	280	efforts made to keep the siblings together, an assessment of the 183
281	281	short-term and long-term effects of separation on each child and 184
282	282	the sibling group as a whole, and a description of the plan for 185
283	283	visitation communication or contact between the children if 186
284	284	separation is approved. 187
285	285	Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 39.6221, Florida 188
286	286	Statutes, is amended to read: 189
287	287	39.6221 Permanent guardianship of a dependent child. — 190
288	288	(5) The court shall retain jurisdiction over the case and 191
289	289	the child shall remain in the custody of the permanent guardian 192
290	290	unless the order creating the permanent guardianship is modified 193
291	291	by the court. The court also retains jurisdiction to hear a 194
292	292	sibling's motion for visitation or contact filed pursuant to s. 195
293	293	39.4024(4)(b), and the court may issue an order establishing or 196
294	294	modifying sibling visitation or contact without modifying the 197
295	295	guardianship. The court shall discontinue regular review 198
296	296	hearings and relieve the department of the responsibility for 199
297	297	supervising the placement of the child. Notwithstanding Not 200
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306	306	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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310	310	withstanding the retention of jurisdiction by the court, a child 201
311	311	who is placed in a permanent guardianship is considered to have 202
312	312	reached permanency the placement shall be considered permanency 203
313	313	for the child. 204
314	314	Section 3. Section 63.0427, Florida Statutes, is amended 205
315	315	to read: 206
316	316	63.0427 Agreements for Continued visitation communication 207
317	317	or contact between adopted child and siblings, parents, and 208
318	318	other relatives.— 209
319	319	(1) A child whose parents have had their parental rights 210
320	320	terminated and whose custody has been awarded to the department 211
321	321	pursuant to s. 39.811, and who is the subject of a petition for 212
322	322	adoption under this chapter, has shall have the right to have 213
323	323	the court consider the appropriateness of postadoption 214
324	324	visitation communication or contact, including, but not limited 215
325	325	to, visits, written correspondence, or telephone calls, with his 216
326	326	or her siblings or, upon agreement of the adoptive parents , with 217
327	327	the parents who have had their parental rights terminated , or 218
328	328	with other specified biological relatives. 219
329	329	(2) The court may not deny postadoption visitation or 220
330	330	contact between siblings unless it finds by clear and convincing 221
331	331	evidence that such visitation or co ntact is contrary to the 222
332	332	safety and well-being of one or more of the siblings. If the 223
333	333	court denies postadoption visitation or contact between 224
334	334	siblings, but services are available which would reasonably be 225
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343	343	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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347	347	expected to ameliorate the risk to the sibling's sa fety or well-226
348	348	being, the court must direct the department or the community -227
349	349	based care lead agency to provide such services immediately in 228
350	350	order to restore visitation or contact between the siblings. 229
351	351	(3) With regard to postadoption visitation or contact 230
352	352	between an adopted child and parents who have had their parental 231
353	353	rights terminated or other specified biological relatives, the 232
354	354	court shall consider all of the following in making such 233
355	355	determination: 234
356	356	(a) Any orders of the court pursuant to s. 39.811(7). 235
357	357	(b) Recommendations of the department, the foster parents 236
358	358	if other than the adoptive parents, and the guardian ad litem. 237
359	359	(c) Statements of the prospective adoptive parents. 238
360	360	(d) Any other information deemed relevant and material by 239
361	361	the court. 240
362	362	(4) If the court determines that the child's best 241
363	363	interests will be served by postadoption visitation 242
364	364	communication or contact, the court shall so order, stating the 243
365	365	nature and frequency of the visitation communication or contact. 244
366	366	This order shall be made a part o f the final adoption order, but 245
367	367	the continuing validity of the adoption may not be contingent 246
368	368	upon such postadoption visitation communication or contact and 247
369	369	the ability of the adoptive parents and child to change 248
370	370	residence within or outside the State of Fl orida may not be 249
371	371	impaired by such visitation communication or contact. The court 250
372	372
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380	380	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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384	384	retains jurisdiction to hear motions to create or modify 251
385	385	postadoption visitation or contact until the child reaches the 252
386	386	age of 18. 253
387	387	(5)(2) Notwithstanding s. 63.162, the adop tive parent may, 254
388	388	at any time, petition for review of a visitation communication 255
389	389	or contact order entered under this section pursuant to 256
390	390	subsection (1), if the adoptive parent believes that the best 257
391	391	interests of the adopted child are being compromised, and the 258
392	392	court may order the visitation communication or contact to be 259
393	393	terminated or modified, as the court deems to be in the best 260
394	394	interests of the adopted child .; however, The court may not 261
395	395	increase visitation or contact between the adopted child and his 262
396	396	or her siblings, birth parents, or other relatives without the 263
397	397	consent of the adoptive parent or parents. As part of the review 264
398	398	process, the court may order the parties to engage in mediation. 265
399	399	The department is shall not be required to be a party to such 266
400	400	review. 267
401	401	Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 63.093, Florida 268
402	402	Statutes, is amended to read: 269
403	403	63.093 Adoption of children from the child welfare 270
404	404	system.— 271
405	405	(1) The department or community -based care lead agency as 272
406	406	defined in s. 409.986(3), or its subcontracted agency, must 273
407	407	respond to an initial inquiry from a prospective adoptive parent 274
408	408	within 7 business days after receipt of the inquiry. The 275
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417	417	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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421	421	response must inform the prospective adoptive parent of the 276
422	422	adoption process, and the requirements for adopting a child from 277
423	423	the child welfare system , and the expectation that adoptive 278
424	424	parents will ensure that a child maintains visitation or contact 279
425	425	with his or her siblings, as defined in s. 39.01, after the 280
426	426	adoption is finalized . 281
427	427	282
428	428	Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), this section does not 283
429	429	apply to a child adopted through the process provided in s. 284
430	430	63.082(6). 285
431	431	Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 286