Fla. Stat. § 39.01 — Florida Code / Title V / Chapter 39 / Part I / Section 39.01
39.01 Definitions.
Status: in_force

When used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) “Abandoned” or “abandonment” means a situation in which the parent or legal custodian of a child or, in the absence of a parent or legal custodian, the caregiver, while being able, has made no significant contribution to the child’s care and maintenance or has failed to establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship with the child, or both. For purposes of this subsection, “establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship” includes, but is not limited to, frequent and regular contact with the child through frequent and regular visitation or frequent and regular communication to or with the child, and the exercise of parental rights and responsibilities. Marginal efforts and incidental or token visits or communications are not sufficient to establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship with a child. A man’s acknowledgment of paternity of the child does not limit the period of time considered in determining whether the child was abandoned. The term does not include a surrendered infant as described in s. 383.50, a “child in need of services” as defined in chapter 984, or a “family in need of services” as defined in chapter 984. The absence of a parent, legal custodian, or caregiver responsible for a child’s welfare, who is a servicemember, by reason of deployment or anticipated deployment as defined in 50 U.S.C. s. 3938(e), may not be considered or used as a factor in determining abandonment. The incarceration, repeated incarceration, or extended incarceration of a parent, legal custodian, or caregiver responsible for a child’s welfare may support a finding of abandonment.

(2) “Abuse” means any willful act or threatened act that results in any physical, mental, or sexual abuse, injury, or harm that causes or is likely to cause the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health to be significantly impaired. Abuse of a child includes the birth of a new child into a family during the course of an open dependency case when the parent or caregiver has been determined to lack the protective capacity to safely care for the children in the home and has not substantially complied with the case plan towards successful reunification or met the conditions for return of the children into the home. Abuse of a child includes acts or omissions. Corporal discipline of a child by a parent or legal custodian for disciplinary purposes does not in itself constitute abuse when it does not result in harm to the child.

(3) “Addictions receiving facility” means a substance abuse service provider as defined in chapter 397.

(4) “Adjudicatory hearing” means a hearing for the court to determine whether or not the facts support the allegations stated in the petition in dependency cases or in termination of parental rights cases.

(5) “Adoption” means the act of creating the legal relationship between parent and child where it did not exist, thereby declaring the child to be legally the child of the adoptive parents and their heir at law, and entitled to all the rights and privileges and subject to all the obligations of a child born to the adoptive parents in lawful wedlock.

(6) “Adult” means any natural person other than a child.

(7) “Arbitration” means a process whereby a neutral third person or panel, called an arbitrator or an arbitration panel, considers the facts and arguments presented by the parties and renders a decision which may be binding or nonbinding.

(8) “Attorney ad litem” means an attorney appointed by the court to represent a child in a dependency case who has an attorney-client relationship with the child under the rules regulating The Florida Bar.

(9) “Authorized agent” or “designee” of the department means an employee, volunteer, or other person or agency determined by the state to be eligible for state-funded risk management coverage, which is assigned or designated by the department to perform duties or exercise powers under this chapter.

(10) “Caregiver” means the parent, legal custodian, permanent guardian, adult household member, or other person responsible for a child’s welfare as defined in subsection (57).

(11) “Case plan” means a document, as described in s. 39.6011, prepared by the department with input from all parties. The case plan follows the child from the provision of voluntary services through any dependency, foster care, or termination of parental rights proceeding or related activity or process.

(12) “Child” or “youth” means any unmarried person under the age of 18 years who has not been emancipated by order of the court.

(13) “Child Protection Team” means a team of professionals established by the Department of Health to receive referrals from the protective investigators and protective supervision staff of the department and to provide specialized and supportive services to the program in processing child abuse, abandonment, or neglect cases. A Child Protection Team shall provide consultation to other programs of the department and other persons regarding child abuse, abandonment, or neglect cases.

(14) “Child who has exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior” means a child who has been found by the department or the court to have committed an inappropriate sexual act.

(15) “Child who is found to be dependent” means a child who, pursuant to this chapter, is found by the court: (a) To have been abandoned, abused, or neglected by the child’s parent or parents or legal custodians; (b) To have been surrendered to the department, the former Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, or a licensed child-placing agency for purpose of adoption; (c) To have been voluntarily placed with a licensed child-caring agency, a licensed child-placing agency, an adult relative, the department, or the former Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, after which placement, under the requirements of this chapter, a case plan has expired and the parent or parents or legal custodians have failed to substantially comply with the requirements of the plan; (d) To have been voluntarily placed with a licensed child-placing agency for the purposes of subsequent adoption, and a parent or parents have signed a consent pursuant to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure; (e) To have no parent or legal custodians capable of providing supervision and care; (f) To be at substantial risk of imminent abuse, abandonment, or neglect by the parent or parents or legal custodians; or (g) To have been sexually exploited and to have no parent, legal custodian, or responsible adult relative currently known and capable of providing the necessary and appropriate supervision and care.

(16) “Child support” means a court-ordered obligation, enforced under chapter 61 and ss. 409.2551-409.2597, for monetary support for the care, maintenance, training, and education of a child.

(17) “Circuit” means any of the 20 judicial circuits as set forth in s. 26.021.

(18) “Comprehensive assessment” or “assessment” means the gathering of information for the evaluation of a child’s and caregiver’s physical, psychiatric, psychological, or mental health; developmental delays or challenges; and educational, vocational, and social condition and family environment as they relate to the child’s and caregiver’s need for rehabilitative and treatment services, including substance abuse treatment services, mental health services, developmental services, literacy services, medical services, family services, and other specialized services, as appropriate.

(19) “Concurrent planning” means establishing a permanency goal in a case plan that uses reasonable efforts to reunify the child with the parent, while at the same time establishing another goal that must be one of the following options: (a) Adoption when a petition for termination of parental rights has been filed or will be filed; (b) Permanent guardianship of a dependent child under s. 39.6221; (c) Permanent placement with a fit and willing relative under s. 39.6231; or (d) Placement in another planned permanent living arrangement under s. 39.6241.

(20) “Court,” unless otherwise expressly stated, means the circuit court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under this chapter.

(21) “Department” means the Department of Children and Families.

(22) “Diligent efforts by a parent” means a course of conduct which results in a meaningful change in the behavior of a parent that reduces risk to the child in the child’s home to the extent that the child may be safely placed permanently back in the home as set forth in the case plan.

(23) “Diligent efforts of social service agency” means reasonable efforts to provide social services or reunification services made by any social service agency that is a party to a case plan.

(24) “Diligent search” means the efforts of a social service agency to locate a parent or prospective parent whose identity or location is unknown, initiated as soon as the social service agency is made aware of the existence of such parent, with the search progress reported at each court hearing until the parent is either identified and located or the court excuses further search.

(25) “Disposition hearing” means a hearing in which the court determines the most appropriate protections, services, and placement for the child in dependency cases.

(26) “Expedited termination of parental rights” means proceedings wherein a case plan with the goal of reunification is not being offered.

(27) “False report” means a report of abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a child to the central abuse hotline, which report is maliciously made for the purpose of: (a) Harassing, embarrassing, or harming another person; (b) Personal financial gain for the reporting person; (c) Acquiring custody of a child; or (d) Personal benefit for the reporting person in any other private dispute involving a child. The term “false report” does not include a report of abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a child made in good faith to the central abuse hotline.

(28) “Family” means a collective body of persons, consisting of a child and a parent, legal custodian, or adult relative, in which: (a) The persons reside in the same house or living unit; or (b) The parent, legal custodian, or adult relative has a legal responsibility by blood, marriage, or court order to support or care for the child.

(29) “Fictive kin” means a person unrelated by birth, marriage, or adoption who has an emotionally significant relationship, which possesses the characteristics of a family relationship, to a child.

(30) “Foster care” means care provided a child in a foster family or boarding home, group home, agency boarding home, child care institution, or any combination thereof.

(31) “Guardian” means a relative, nonrelative, next of kin, or fictive kin who is awarded physical custody of a child in a proceeding brought pursuant to this chapter.

(32) “Guardian ad litem” means a person or an entity that is a fiduciary appointed by the court to represent a child in any civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding to which the child is a party, including, but not limited to, under this chapter, which uses a best interest standard for decisionmaking and advocacy. For purposes of this chapter, the term includes, but is not limited to, the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office, which includes all circuit guardian ad litem offices and the duly certified volunteers, staff, and attorneys assigned by the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office to represent children; a court-appointed attorney; or a responsible adult who is appointed by the court. A guardian ad litem is a party to the judicial proceeding as a representative of the child and serves until the jurisdiction of the court over the child terminates or until excused by the court.

(33) “Guardian advocate” means a person appointed by the court to act on behalf of a drug-dependent newborn under part XI of this chapter.

(34) “Guardianship assistance payment” means a monthly cash payment made by the department to a guardian on behalf of an eligible child or young adult.

(35) “Guardianship Assistance Program” means a program that provides benefits to a child’s guardian on behalf of the child. Benefits may be in the form of a guardianship assistance payment, a guardianship nonrecurring payment, or Medicaid coverage.

(36) “Guardianship nonrecurring payment” means a one-time payment of up to $2,000 made by the department to a guardian to assist with the expenses associated with obtaining legal guardianship of a child who is eligible for the Guardianship Assistance Program pursuant to s. 39.6225.

(37) “Harm” to a child’s health or welfare can occur when any person: (a) Inflicts or allows to be inflicted upon the child physical, mental, or emotional injury. In determining whether harm has occurred, the following factors must be considered in evaluating any physical, mental, or emotional injury to a child: the age of the child; any prior history of injuries to the child; the location of the injury on the body of the child; the multiplicity of the injury; and the type of trauma inflicted. Such injury includes, but is not limited to: 1. Willful acts that produce the following specific injuries: a. Sprains, dislocations, or cartilage damage. b. Bone or skull fractures. c. Brain or spinal cord damage. d. Intracranial hemorrhage or injury to other internal organs. e. Asphyxiation, suffocation, or drowning. f. Injury resulting from the use of a deadly weapon. g. Burns or scalding. h. Cuts, lacerations, punctures, or bites. i. Permanent or temporary disfigurement. j. Permanent or temporary loss or impairment of a body part or function. As used in this subparagraph, the term “willful” refers to the intent to perform an action, not to the intent to achieve a result or to cause an injury. 2. Purposely giving a child poison, alcohol, drugs, or other substances that substantially affect the child’s behavior, motor coordination, or judgment or that result in sickness or internal injury. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term “drugs” means prescription drugs not prescribed for the child or not administered as prescribed, and controlled substances as outlined in Schedule I or Schedule II of s. 893.03. 3. Leaving a child without adult supervision or arrangement appropriate for the child’s age or mental or physical condition, so that the child is unable to care for the child’s own needs, is subjected to obvious danger of which the child’s caregiver knew or should have known, or is unable to exercise reasonable judgment to avoid serious harm to himself or others in responding to any kind of physical or emotional crisis. This subparagraph may not be construed to restrict a caregiver from allowing a child of sufficient maturity and physical condition from engaging in independent unsupervised activities, including, but not limited to, traveling to or from school or nearby locations by bicycle or on foot, playing outdoors, or remaining at home or any other location for a reasonable period of time, unless allowing such activities constitutes conduct that is so reckless as to endanger the health or safety of the child. 4. Inappropriate or excessively harsh disciplinary action that is likely to result in physical injury, mental injury as defined in this section, or emotional injury. The significance of any injury must be evaluated in light of the following factors: the age of the child; any prior history of injuries to the child; the location of the injury on the body of the child; the multiplicity of the injury; and the type of trauma inflicted. Corporal discipline may be considered excessive or abusive when it results in any of the following or other similar injuries: a. Sprains, dislocations, or cartilage damage. b. Bone or skull fractures. c. Brain or spinal cord damage. d. Intracranial hemorrhage or injury to other internal organs. e. Asphyxiation, suffocation, or drowning. f. Injury resulting from the use of a deadly weapon. g. Burns or scalding. h. Cuts, lacerations, punctures, or bites. i. Permanent or temporary disfigurement. j. Permanent or temporary loss or impairment of a body part or function. k. Significant bruises or welts. (b) Commits, or allows to be committed, sexual battery, as defined in chapter 794, or lewd or lascivious acts, as defined in chapter 800, against the child. (c) Allows, encourages, or forces the sexual exploitation of a child, which includes allowing, encouraging, or forcing a child to: 1. Solicit for or engage in prostitution; or 2. Engage in a sexual performance, as defined by chapter 827. (d) Exploits a child, or allows a child to be exploited, as provided in s. 450.151. (e) Abandons the child. Within the context of the definition of “harm,” the term “abandoned the child” or “abandonment of the child” means a situation in which the parent or legal custodian of a child or, in the absence of a parent or legal custodian, the caregiver, while being able, has made no significant contribution to the child’s care and maintenance or has failed to establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship with the child, or both. For purposes of this paragraph, “establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship” includes, but is not limited to, frequent and regular contact with the child through frequent and regular visitation or frequent and regular communication to or with the child, and the exercise of parental rights and responsibilities. Marginal efforts and incidental or token visits or communications are not sufficient to establish or maintain a substantial and positive relationship with a child. The term “abandoned” does not include a surrendered infant as described in s. 383.50, a child in need of services as defined in chapter 984, or a family in need of services as defined in chapter 984. The incarceration, repeated incarceration, or extended incarceration of a parent, legal custodian, or caregiver responsible for a child’s welfare may support a finding of abandonment. (f) Neglects the child. Within the context of the definition of “harm,” the term “neglects the child” means that the parent or other person responsible for the child’s welfare fails to supply the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or health care, although financially able to do so or although offered financial or other means to do so; however, the term does not include a caregiver allowing a child to engage in independent and unsupervised activities unless allowing such activities constitutes reckless conduct that endangers the health or safety of the child. Such independent and unsupervised activities include, but are not limited to, traveling to or from school or nearby locations by bicycle or on foot, playing outdoors, or remaining at home or any other location for a reasonable period of time. A parent or legal custodian who, by reason of the legitimate practice of religious beliefs, does not provide specified medical treatment for a child may not be considered abusive or neglectful for that reason alone, but such an exception does not: 1. Eliminate the requirement that such a case be reported to the department; 2. Prevent the department from investigating such a case; or 3. Preclude a court from ordering, when the health of the child requires it, the provision of medical services by a physician, as defined in this section, or treatment by a duly accredited practitioner who relies solely on spiritual means for healing in accordance with the tenets and practices of a well-recognized church or religious organization. (g) Exposes a child to a controlled substance or alcohol. Exposure to a controlled substance or alcohol is established by: 1. A test, administered at birth, which indicated that the child’s blood, urine, or meconium contained any amount of alcohol or a controlled substance or metabolites of such substances, the presence of which was not the result of medical treatment administered to the mother or the newborn infant; or 2. Evidence of extensive, abusive, and chronic use of a controlled substance or alcohol by a parent to the extent that the parent’s ability to provide supervision and care for the child has been or is likely to be severely compromised. As used in this paragraph, the term “controlled substance” means prescription drugs not prescribed for the parent or not administered as prescribed and controlled substances as outlined in Schedule I or Schedule II of s. 893.03. (h) Uses mechanical devices, unreasonable restraints, or extended periods of isolation to control a child. (i) Engages in violent behavior that demonstrates a wanton disregard for the presence of a child and could reasonably result in serious injury to the child. (j) Negligently fails to protect a child in his or her care from inflicted physical, mental, or sexual injury caused by the acts of another. (k) Has allowed a child’s sibling to die as a result of abuse, abandonment, or neglect. (l) 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.

(38) “Impending danger” means a situation in which family behaviors, attitudes, motives, emotions, or situations pose a threat that may not be currently active but that can be anticipated to become active and to have severe effects on a child at any time.

(39) “Institutional child abuse or neglect” means situations of known or suspected child abuse or neglect in which the person allegedly perpetrating the child abuse or neglect is an employee of a public or private school, public or private day care center, residential home, institution, facility, or agency or any other person at such institution responsible for the child’s welfare as defined in subsection (57).

(40) “Judge” means the circuit judge exercising jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter.

(41) “Juvenile sexual abuse” means any sexual behavior by a child which occurs without consent, without equality, or as a result of coercion. For purposes of this subsection, the following definitions apply: (a) “Coercion” means the exploitation of authority or the use of bribes, threats of force, or intimidation to gain cooperation or compliance. (b) “Consent” means an agreement, including all of the following: 1. Understanding what is proposed based on age, maturity, developmental level, functioning, and experience. 2. Knowledge of societal standards for what is being proposed. 3. Awareness of potential consequences and alternatives. 4. Assumption that agreement or disagreement will be accepted equally. 5. Voluntary decision. 6. Mental competence. (c) “Equality” means two participants operating with the same level of power in a relationship, neither being controlled nor coerced by the other. Juvenile sexual behavior ranges from noncontact sexual behavior such as making obscene phone calls, exhibitionism, voyeurism, and the showing or taking of lewd photographs to varying degrees of direct sexual contact, such as frottage, fondling, digital penetration, rape, fellatio, sodomy, and various other sexually aggressive acts.

(42) “Legal custody” means a legal status created by a court which vests in a custodian of the person or guardian, whether an agency or an individual, the right to have physical custody of the child and the right and duty to protect, nurture, guide, and discipline the child and to provide him or her with food, shelter, education, and ordinary medical, dental, psychiatric, and psychological care.

(43) “Legal father” means a man married to the mother at the time of conception or birth of their child, unless paternity has been otherwise determined by a court of competent jurisdiction. If the mother was not married to a man at the time of birth or conception of the child, the term means a man named on the birth certificate of the child pursuant to s. 382.013(2), a man determined by a court order to be the father of the child, or a man determined to be the father of the child by the Department of Revenue as provided in s. 409.256.

(44) “Licensed child-caring agency” means a person, society, association, or agency licensed by the department to care for, receive, and board children.

(45) “Licensed child-placing agency” means a person, society, association, or institution licensed by the department to care for, receive, or board children and to place children in a licensed child-caring institution or a foster or adoptive home.

(46) “Licensed health care professional” means a physician licensed under chapter 458, an osteopathic physician licensed under chapter 459, a nurse licensed under part I of chapter 464, a physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, or a dentist licensed under chapter 466.

(47) “Likely to injure oneself” means that, as evidenced by violent or other actively self-destructive behavior, it is more likely than not that within a 24-hour period the child will attempt to commit suicide or inflict serious bodily harm on himself or herself.

(48) “Likely to injure others” means that it is more likely than not that within a 24-hour period the child will inflict serious and unjustified bodily harm on another person.

(49) “Mediation” means a process whereby a neutral third person called a mediator acts to encourage and facilitate the resolution of a dispute between two or more parties. It is an informal and nonadversarial process with the objective of helping the disputing parties reach a mutually acceptable and voluntary agreement. The role of the mediator includes, but is not limited to, assisting the parties in identifying issues, fostering joint problem solving, and exploring settlement alternatives.

(50) “Medical neglect” means the failure to provide or the failure to allow needed care as recommended by a health care practitioner for a physical injury, illness, medical condition, or impairment, or the failure to seek timely and appropriate medical care for a serious health problem that a reasonable person would have recognized as requiring professional medical attention. Medical neglect does not occur if the parent or legal guardian of the child has made reasonable attempts to obtain necessary health care services or the immediate health condition giving rise to the allegation of neglect is a known and expected complication of the child’s diagnosis or treatment and: (a) The recommended care offers limited net benefit to the child and the morbidity or other side effects of the treatment may be considered to be greater than the anticipated benefit; or (b) The parent or legal guardian received conflicting medical recommendations for treatment from multiple practitioners and did not follow all recommendations.

(51) “Mental injury” means an injury to the intellectual or psychological capacity of a child as evidenced by a discernible and substantial impairment in the ability to function within the normal range of performance and behavior.

(52) “Necessary medical treatment” means care which is necessary within a reasonable degree of medical certainty to prevent the deterioration of a child’s condition or to alleviate immediate pain of a child.

(53) “Neglect” occurs when a child is deprived of, or is allowed to be deprived of, necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment or a child is permitted to live in an environment when such deprivation or environment causes the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health to be significantly impaired or to be in danger of being significantly impaired. The foregoing circumstances shall not be considered neglect if caused primarily by financial inability unless actual services for relief have been offered to and rejected by such person. A parent or legal custodian legitimately practicing religious beliefs in accordance with a recognized church or religious organization who thereby does not provide specific medical treatment for a child may not, for that reason alone, be considered a negligent parent or legal custodian; however, such an exception does not preclude a court from ordering the following services to be provided, when the health of the child so requires: (a) Medical services from a licensed physician, dentist, optometrist, podiatric physician, or other qualified health care provider; or (b) Treatment by a duly accredited practitioner who relies solely on spiritual means for healing in accordance with the tenets and practices of a well-recognized church or religious organization. Neglect of a child includes acts or omissions.

(54) “Next of kin” means an adult relative of a child who is the child’s brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or first cousin.

(55) “Nonrelative” means a person unrelated by blood or marriage or a relative outside the fifth degree of consanguinity.

(56) “Office” means the Office of Adoption and Child Protection within the Executive Office of the Governor.

(57) “Other person responsible for a child’s welfare” includes the child’s legal guardian or foster parent; an employee of any school, public or private child day care center, residential home, institution, facility, or agency; a law enforcement officer employed in any facility, service, or program for children that is operated or contracted by the Department of Juvenile Justice; or any other person legally responsible for the child’s welfare in a residential setting; and also includes an adult sitter or relative entrusted with a child’s care. For the purpose of departmental investigative jurisdiction, this definition does not include the following persons when they are acting in an official capacity: law enforcement officers, except as otherwise provided in this subsection; employees of municipal or county detention facilities; or employees of the Department of Corrections.

(58) “Out-of-home” means a placement outside of the home of the parents or a parent.

(59) “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 s. 63.062(1). The term “parent” also means legal father as defined in this section. If a child has been legally adopted, the term “parent” means the adoptive mother or father of the child. For purposes of this chapter only, when the phrase “parent or legal custodian” is used, it refers to rights or responsibilities of the parent and, only if there is no living parent with intact parental rights, to the rights or responsibilities of the legal custodian who has assumed the role of the parent. The term does not include an individual whose parental relationship to the child has been legally terminated, or an alleged or prospective parent, unless: (a) The parental status falls within the terms of s. 39.503(1) or s. 63.062(1); or (b) Parental status is applied for the purpose of determining whether the child has been abandoned.

(60) “Participant,” for purposes of a shelter proceeding, dependency proceeding, or termination of parental rights proceeding, means any person who is not a party but who should receive notice of hearings involving the child, including the actual custodian of the child, the foster parents or the legal custodian of the child, identified prospective parents, and any other person whose participation may be in the best interest of the child. A community-based agency under contract with the department to provide protective services may be designated as a participant at the discretion of the court. Participants may be granted leave by the court to be heard without the necessity of filing a motion to intervene.

(61) “Party” means the parent or parents of the child, the petitioner, the department, the guardian ad litem, and the child. The presence of the child may be excused by order of the court when presence would not be in the child’s best interest. Notice to the child may be excused by order of the court when the age, capacity, or other condition of the child is such that the notice would be meaningless or detrimental to the child.

(62) “Permanency goal” means the living arrangement identified for the child to return to or identified as the permanent living arrangement of the child. The permanency goal is also the case plan goal. If concurrent case planning is being used, reunification may be pursued at the same time that another permanency goal is pursued.

(63) “Permanency plan” means the plan that establishes the placement intended to serve as the child’s permanent home.

(64) “Permanent guardian” means the relative or other adult in a permanent guardianship of a dependent child under s. 39.6221.

(65) “Permanent guardianship of a dependent child” means a legal relationship that a court creates under s. 39.6221 between a child and a relative or other adult approved by the court which is intended to be permanent and self-sustaining through the transfer of parental rights with respect to the child relating to protection, education, care and control of the person, custody of the person, and decisionmaking on behalf of the child.

(66) “Physical injury” means death, permanent or temporary disfigurement, or impairment of any bodily part.

(67) “Physician” means any licensed physician, dentist, podiatric physician, or optometrist and includes any intern or resident.

(68) “Preliminary screening” means the gathering of preliminary information to be used in determining a child’s need for further evaluation or assessment or for referral for other substance abuse services through means such as psychosocial interviews; urine and breathalyzer screenings; and reviews of available educational, delinquency, and dependency records of the child.

(69) “Present danger” means a significant and clearly observable family condition that is occurring at the current moment and is already endangering or threatening to endanger the child. Present danger threats are conspicuous and require that an immediate protective action be taken to ensure the child’s safety.

(70) “Preventive services” means social services and other supportive and rehabilitative services provided to the parent or legal custodian of the child and to the child for the purpose of averting the removal of the child from the home or disruption of a family which will or could result in the placement of a child in foster care. Social services and other supportive and rehabilitative services shall promote the child’s developmental needs and need for physical, mental, and emotional health and a safe, stable, living environment; shall promote family autonomy; and shall strengthen family life, whenever possible.

(71) “Prospective parent” means a person who claims to be, or has been identified as, a person who may be a mother or a father of a child.

(72) “Protective investigation” means the acceptance of a report alleging child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, as defined in this chapter, by the central abuse hotline or the acceptance of a report of other dependency by the department; the investigation of each report; the determination of whether action by the court is warranted; the determination of the disposition of each report without court or public agency action when appropriate; and the referral of a child to another public or private agency when appropriate.

(73) “Protective investigator” means an authorized agent of the department who receives and investigates reports of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect; who, as a result of the investigation, may recommend that a dependency petition be filed for the child; and who performs other duties necessary to carry out the required actions of the protective investigation function.

(74) “Protective supervision” means a legal status in dependency cases which permits the child to remain safely in his or her own home or other nonlicensed placement under the supervision of an agent of the department and which must be reviewed by the court during the period of supervision.

(75) “Qualified professional” means a physician or a physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; a psychiatrist licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; a psychologist as defined in s. 490.003(7) or a professional licensed under chapter 491; or a psychiatric nurse as defined in s. 394.455.

(76) “Relative” means a grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, first cousin, aunt, uncle, great-aunt, great-uncle, niece, or nephew, whether related by the whole or half blood, by affinity, or by adoption. The term does not include a stepparent.

(77) “Reunification services” means social services and other supportive and rehabilitative services provided to the parent of the child, to the child, and, where appropriate, to the relative placement, nonrelative placement, or foster parents of the child, for the purpose of enabling a child who has been placed in out-of-home care to safely return to his or her parent at the earliest possible time. The health and safety of the child shall be the paramount goal of social services and other supportive and rehabilitative services. The services shall promote the child’s need for physical, developmental, mental, and emotional health and a safe, stable, living environment; shall promote family autonomy; and shall strengthen family life, whenever possible.

(78) “Safety plan” means a plan created to control present or impending danger using the least intrusive means appropriate to protect a child when a parent, caregiver, or legal custodian is unavailable, unwilling, or unable to do so.

(79) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Children and Families.

(80) “Sexual abuse of a child” for purposes of finding a child to be dependent means one or more of the following acts: (a) Any penetration, however slight, of the vagina or anal opening of one person by the penis of another person, whether or not there is the emission of semen. (b) Any sexual contact between the genitals or anal opening of one person and the mouth or tongue of another person. (c) Any intrusion by one person into the genitals or anal opening of another person, including the use of any object for this purpose, except that this does not include any act intended for a valid medical purpose. (d) The intentional touching of the genitals or intimate parts, including the breasts, genital area, groin, inner thighs, and buttocks, or the clothing covering them, of either the child or the perpetrator, except that this does not include: 1. Any act which may reasonably be construed to be a normal caregiver responsibility, any interaction with, or affection for a child; or 2. Any act intended for a valid medical purpose. (e) The intentional masturbation of the perpetrator’s genitals in the presence of a child. (f) The intentional exposure of the perpetrator’s genitals in the presence of a child, or any other sexual act intentionally perpetrated in the presence of a child, if such exposure or sexual act is for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification, aggression, degradation, or other similar purpose. (g) The sexual exploitation of a child, which includes the act of a child offering to engage in or engaging in prostitution, or the act of allowing, encouraging, or forcing a child to: 1. Solicit for or engage in prostitution; 2. Engage in a sexual performance, as defined by chapter 827; or 3. Participate in the trade of human trafficking as provided in s. 787.06(3)(g).

(81) “Shelter” means a placement with a relative or a nonrelative, or in a licensed home or facility, for the temporary care of a child who is alleged to be or who has been found to be dependent, pending court disposition before or after adjudication.

(82) “Shelter hearing” means a hearing in which the court determines whether probable cause exists to keep a child in shelter status pending further investigation of the case.

(83) “Sibling” means: (a) A child who shares a birth parent or legal parent with one or more other children; or (b) A child who has lived together in a family with one or more other children whom he or she identifies as siblings.

(84) “Social service agency” means the department, a licensed child-caring agency, or a licensed child-placing agency.

(85) “Social worker” means any person who has a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in social work.

(86) “Substance abuse” means using, without medical reason, any psychoactive or mood-altering drug, including alcohol, in such a manner as to induce impairment resulting in dysfunctional social behavior.

(87) “Substantial compliance” means that the circumstances which caused the creation of the case plan have been significantly remedied to the extent that the well-being and safety of the child will not be endangered upon the child’s remaining with or being returned to the child’s parent.

(88) “Taken into custody” means the status of a child immediately when temporary physical control over the child is attained by a person authorized by law, pending the child’s release or placement.

(89) “Temporary legal custody” means the relationship that a court creates between a child and an adult relative of the child, legal custodian, agency, or other person approved by the court until a more permanent arrangement is ordered. Temporary legal custody confers upon the custodian the right to have temporary physical custody of the child and the right and duty to protect, nurture, guide, and discipline the child and to provide the child with food, shelter, and education, and ordinary medical, dental, psychiatric, and psychological care, unless these rights and duties are otherwise enlarged or limited by the court order establishing the temporary legal custody relationship.

(90) “Victim” means any child who has sustained or is threatened with physical, mental, or emotional injury identified in a report involving child abuse, neglect, or abandonment, or child-on-child sexual abuse.

(91) “Visitor” means a person who: (a) Provides care or supervision to a child in the home; or (b) Is 12 years of age or older, other than a child in care, and who will be in the child’s home at least: 1. Five consecutive days; or 2. Seven days or more in 1 month.

History: s. 1, ch. 26880, 1951; ss. 1, 2, ch. 67-585; s. 3, ch. 69-353; s. 4, ch. 69-365; ss. 19, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 71-117; s. 1, ch. 71-130; s. 10, ch. 71-355; ss. 4, 5, ch. 72-179; ss. 19, 30, ch. 72-404; ss. 2, 23, ch. 73-231; s. 1, ch. 74-368; ss. 15, 27, 28, ch. 75-48; s. 4, ch. 77-147; s. 2, ch. 78-414; s. 9, ch. 79-164; s. 2, ch. 79-203; s. 1, ch. 80-290; ss. 1, 17, ch. 81-218; ss. 4, 15, ch. 84-311; s. 4, ch. 85-80; s. 2, ch. 85-206; ss. 73, 78, ch. 86-220; s. 1, ch. 87-133; s. 1, ch. 87-289; s. 12, ch. 87-397; s. 1, ch. 88-319; s. 10, ch. 88-337; s. 2, ch. 90-53; s. 3, ch. 90-208; s. 3, ch. 90-306; s. 2, ch. 90-309; s. 69, ch. 91-45; s. 1, ch. 91-183; s. 1, ch. 92-158; s. 1, ch. 92-170; ss. 1, 4(1st), 14, ch. 92-287; s. 13, ch. 93-39; s. 6, ch. 93-230; s. 1, ch. 94-164; s. 11, ch. 94-209; s. 50, ch. 94-232; s. 1333, ch. 95-147; s. 8, ch. 95-152; s. 1, ch. 95-212; s. 4, ch. 95-228; s. 1, ch. 95-266; ss. 3, 43, ch. 95-267; s. 3, ch. 96-369; s. 2, ch. 96-398; s. 20, ch. 96-402; s. 23, ch. 97-96; s. 158, ch. 97-101; s. 44, ch. 97-190; s. 4, ch. 97-234; s. 111, ch. 97-238; s. 1, ch. 97-276; s. 1, ch. 98-49; s. 176, ch. 98-166; s. 7, ch. 98-280; s. 20, ch. 98-403; s. 15, ch. 99-2; s. 3, ch. 99-168; s. 2, ch. 99-186; s. 4, ch. 99-193; s. 15, ch. 2000-139; s. 2, ch. 2000-188; s. 82, ch. 2000-318; s. 9, ch. 2000-320; s. 14, ch. 2002-1; s. 2, ch. 2006-62; s. 1, ch. 2006-86; s. 4, ch. 2006-194; s. 4, ch. 2007-124; s. 1, ch. 2008-90; s. 1, ch. 2008-154; s. 1, ch. 2008-245; s. 1, ch. 2009-21; s. 3, ch. 2012-105; s. 1, ch. 2012-178; s. 11, ch. 2014-19; s. 14, ch. 2014-160; s. 3, ch. 2014-224; s. 2, ch. 2015-34; s. 1, ch. 2016-24; s. 1, ch. 2016-71; s. 11, ch. 2016-105; s. 2, ch. 2016-241; s. 2, ch. 2017-151; s. 1, ch. 2018-103; s. 11, ch. 2019-3; s. 1, ch. 2019-142; s. 1, ch. 2020-65; s. 3, ch. 2021-51; s. 5, ch. 2024-70; s. 1, ch. 2024-177; s. 2, ch. 2024-213; s. 1, ch. 2025-167.