Florida Florida Statutes

§ 39.521 — Disposition hearings; powers of disposition

FS § 39.521Ch. 39

Statute text

(1)A disposition hearing shall be conducted by the court, if the court finds that the facts alleged in the petition for dependency were proven in the adjudicatory hearing, or if the parents or legal custodians have consented to the finding of dependency or admitted the allegations in the petition, have failed to appear for the arraignment hearing after proper notice, or have not been located despite a diligent search having been conducted.(a) A written case plan and a family functioning assessment prepared by an authorized agent of the department must be approved by the court. The department must file the case plan and the family functioning assessment with the court, serve copies on the parents of the child, and provide copies to all other parties:1. Not less than 72 hours before the disposition hearing, if the disposition hearing occurs on or after the 60th day after the date the child was placed in out-of-home care. All such case plans must be approved by the court. 2. Not less than 72 hours before the case plan acceptance hearing, if the disposition hearing occurs before the 60th day after the date the child was placed in out-of-home care and a case plan has not been submitted pursuant to this paragraph, or if the court does not approve the case plan at the disposition hearing. The case plan acceptance hearing must occur within 30 days after the disposition hearing to review and approve the case plan.

(b)The court may grant an exception to the requirement for a family functioning assessment by separate order or within the judge's order of disposition upon finding that all the family and child information required by subsection (2) is available in other documents filed with the court.

(c)When any child is adjudicated by a court to be dependent, the court having jurisdiction of the child has the power by order to:1. Require the parent and, when appropriate, the legal guardian or the child to participate in treatment and services identified as necessary. The court may require the person who has custody or who is requesting custody of the child to submit to a mental health or substance abuse disorder assessment or evaluation. The order may be made only upon good cause shown and pursuant to notice and procedural requirements provided under the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure. The mental health assessment or evaluation must be administered by a qualified professional as defined in s. 39.01, and the substance abuse assessment or evaluation must be administered by a qualified professional as defined in s. 397.311. The court may also require such person to participate in and comply with treatment and services identified as necessary, including, when appropriate and available, participation in and compliance with a mental health court program established under chapter 394 or a treatment-based drug court program established under s. 397.334. Adjudication of a child as dependent based upon evidence of harm as defined in s. 39.01(37)(g) demonstrates good cause, and the court shall require the parent whose actions caused the harm to submit to a substance abuse disorder assessment or evaluation and to participate and comply with treatment and services identified in the assessment or evaluation as being necessary. In addition to supervision by the department, the court, including the mental health court program or the treatment-based drug court program, may oversee the progress and compliance with treatment by a person who has custody or is requesting custody of the child. The court may impose appropriate available sanctions for noncompliance upon a person who has custody or is requesting custody of the child or make a finding of noncompliance for consideration in determining whether an alternative placement of the child is in the child's best interests. Any order entered under this subparagraph may be made only upon good cause shown. This subparagraph does not authorize placement of a child with a person seeking custody of the child, other than the child's parent or legal custodian, who requires mental health or substance abuse disorder treatment. 2. Require, if the court deems necessary, the parties to participate in dependency mediation. 3. Require placement of the child either under the protective supervision of an authorized agent of the department in the home of one or both of the child's parents or in the home of a relative of the child or another adult approved by the court, or in the custody of the department. Protective supervision continues until the court terminates it or until the child reaches the age of 18, whichever date is first. Protective supervision shall be terminated by the court whenever the court determines that permanency has been achieved for the child, whether with a parent, another relative, or a legal custodian, and that protective supervision is no longer needed. The termination of supervision may be with or without retaining jurisdiction, at the court's discretion, and shall in either case be considered a permanency option for the child. The order terminating supervision by the department must set forth the powers of the custodian of the child and include the powers ordinarily granted to a guardian of the person of a minor unless otherwise specified. Upon the court's termination of supervision by the department, further judicial reviews are not required if permanency has been established for the child. 4. Determine whether the child has a strong attachment to the prospective permanent guardian and whether such guardian has a strong commitment to permanently caring for the child.

(d)At the conclusion of the disposition hearing, the court shall schedule the initial judicial review hearing which must be held no later than 90 days after the date of the disposition hearing or after the date of the hearing at which the court approves the case plan, whichever occurs earlier, but in no event shall the review hearing be held later than 6 months after the date of the child's removal from the home.

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Legislative history

s. 25, ch. 2000-139; s. 14, ch. 2006-86; s. 3, ch. 2013-21; s. 13, ch. 2017-151; s. 6, ch. 2019-128; s. 5, ch. 2020-138; s. 10, ch. 2021-169; s. 19, ch. 2024-70; s. 4, ch. 2024-177.