Case Name: C.B., Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2003-06-04
Citations: 848 So. 2d 1185
Docket Number: No. 3D02-990
Parties: C.B., Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, Appellee.
Judges: Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and LEVY and FLETCHER, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 848
Pages: 1185–1186

Head Matter:
C.B., Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, Appellee.
No. 3D02-990.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
June 4, 2003.
Rehearing Denied July 9, 2003.
Hughes Hubbard & Reed and Sharon L. Kegerreis, Miami; Bart A. Whitley, Miami, for appellant.
Calianne P. Lantz; Mercedes E. Scopet-ta; and James T. Armstrong, for appellee.
Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and LEVY and FLETCHER, JJ.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
Appellant/Mother, C.B., appeals from the lower court's Final Judgment termi nating parental rights. We reverse on the ground that the Department of Children and Family Services ("Department") failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence any basis for termination as required by section 39.806, Florida Statute. See § 39.809(1), Fla. Stat. (2002).
To support the termination of parental rights, the Department has the burden to show by clear and convincing evidence that a parent has abused, neglected, or abandoned a child and that permanent termination of parental rights is the least restrictive alternative. See § 39.806(1), Fla. Stat. (2002); Dunn v. Blumstein, 406 U.S. 330, 343, 92 S.Ct. 995, 31 L.Ed.2d 274 (1972); Padgett v. Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, 577 So.2d 565, 571 (Fla.1991).
We find that the Department failed to meet its burden in the instant case. Accordingly, the Order terminating C.B.'s parental rights is vacated and the matter remanded for further proceedings and/or action as may be appropriate.
Reversed and remanded.