Case Name: M.K., the Father, Petitioner, v. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, Respondent.
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2018-10-03
Citations: 255 So. 3d 505
Docket Number: No. 3D18-1802
Parties: M.K., the Father, Petitioner,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, Respondent.
Judges: Before LAGOA, LOGUE, and SCALES, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Third Series
Volume: 255
Pages: 505–506

Head Matter:
M.K., the Father, Petitioner,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, Respondent.
No. 3D18-1802
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
Opinion filed October 3, 2018
Abramowitz and Associates, and Jordan B. Abramowitz, Coral Gables, for petitioner.
Karla Perkins, Miami, for respondent.
Before LAGOA, LOGUE, and SCALES, JJ.
ON CONFESSION OF ERROR

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
M.K., the father, appeals from the trial court's August 10, 2018, shelter order. The Department concedes that the trial court's shelter order entered on August 10, 2018, constituted a departure from the essential requirements of the law, as the shelter hearing proceeded without the presence of the Father's counsel. See G.W. v. Dep't of Children & Families, 92 So.3d 307, 309 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012). The Department therefore requests that this Court remand the matter to the trial court in order to allow a shelter hearing to proceed where both the parents and their respective counsels are present. Based on our review and the Department's proper Confession of Error, we quash the trial court's August 10, 2018, shelter order and remand for further proceedings consistent herewith.