(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.
(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.
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