Florida Administrative Code › 65 - DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES › 65C - Family Safety and Preservation Program › Chapter 65C-16 - ADOPTIONS › Section 65C-16.005 - Evaluation of Applicants

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) No person
				shall be denied the opportunity to become an adoptive parent on the basis of
				race, color or national origin. The placement of a child with a particular
				family must not be denied or delayed on the basis of race, color or national
				origin of the family or the child.
(2) An adoption home study which includes
				observation, screening and evaluation of the child and adoptive applicants
				shall be completed by a staff person with the CBC, subcontractor agency, or
				other licensed child-placing agency prior to the adoptive placement of the
				child. The aim of this evaluation is to select families who will be able to
				meet the physical, emotional, social, educational and financial needs of a
				child, while safeguarding the child from further loss and separation from
				siblings and significant adults. The adoption home study is valid for 12 months
				from the approval date.
(3) In
				determining which home studies and applications for adoption will be approved,
				all of the following criteria, not listed in any order of priority, must be
				considered:
(a) The child's choice, if the
				child is developmentally able to participate in the decision. The child's
				consent to the adoption is required if the child is age 12 or older unless
				excused by the court;
(b) The
				ability and willingness of the adoptive family to adopt some or all of a
				sibling group, although no individual child shall be impeded or disadvantaged
				in receiving an adoptive family due to the inability of the adoptive family to
				adopt all siblings. The needs of each individual child must be considered, as
				well as the family's demonstrated efforts to maintain the sibling
				connection;
(c) The commitment of
				the applicant to value, respect, appreciate, and educate the child regarding
				his or her racial and ethnic heritage and to permit the child the opportunity
				to know and appreciate that ethnic and racial heritage;
(d) The family's child rearing experience.
				Applicants with previous child-rearing experience and who have a demonstrated
				history of having provided consistent financial and emotional support to other
				minor children, either birth or adopted, will be considered. Applicants who do
				not have previous child-rearing experience as a parent but who demonstrate the
				capacity to parent a difficult-to-place child by providing care or supervision
				of a child, such as in a role as an aunt or uncle, teacher, foster parent or
				friend, will also be considered. Families with no child-rearing experience must
				also be assessed for their capacity to provide care for a difficult-to-place
				child;
(e) Applicants who have
				experienced an adoption disruption or dissolution in the past shall be assessed
				regarding the reasons for the disruption or dissolution, the family's openness
				in dealing with the problems that led to the disruption or dissolution, their
				willingness to accept help with the problems, and their continued support of
				the child through his or her change of placement;
(f) Marital Status. Applications to adopt
				will be accepted from married couples and from single adults. Consideration
				should be given as to stability of the marriage and/or any significant
				relationships. In determining stability, adoption staff shall consider the
				length of the marriage or relationship and any history of repeated separations
				and reconciliations;
(g) Residence.
				Florida families must be prepared to remain in Florida long enough to have the
				adoption home study completed, the child placed, and the adoption finalized.
				Families from other states wishing to adopt Florida children may apply and be
				studied by an agency authorized or licensed to practice adoption in their state
				of residence. Out-of-state placements must comply with Section
				 63.207, F.S.;
(h) Income. The family must have legal and
				verifiable income and resources to ensure financial stability and security to
				meet expenses incurred in the care of the family. While a family's income must
				meet the needs of its current members, a family interested in a
				difficult-to-place child must not be precluded from consideration if the
				availability of an adoption subsidy would enable them to adopt a
				difficult-to-place child. Management of current income and the ability to plan
				for future changes in income so that the child's social, physical and financial
				needs will be met are as important as the amount of income;
(i) Housing. Housing must provide space and
				the living conditions necessary to promote the health and safety of the
				family;
(j) Health. Applicants will
				be required to fully disclose health history for themselves and each member of
				the household, to include current physical, mental or emotional health status,
				any condition that is progressive and debilitating in its course, and any past
				and current treatment and services received for such condition. A current
				physical shall not be required unless the applicant has disclosed a physical,
				mental or emotional condition that jeopardizes the safety and permanency of the
				child's placement;
(k) Other
				Children, Including Adult Children, of the Family. When families have children
				by birth or adoption, the anticipated impact of a new child on the family must
				be considered. Contact must be attempted with all children of the adoptive
				family in order to determine the anticipated impact on the family and as part
				of the assessment of the potential adoptive parent's capacity to parent a
				difficult-to-place child;
(l) Other
				Household Members. Other household members must be interviewed and included in
				the assessment of the adoptive family to determine the anticipated impact on
				the family. For household members who will serve in a caregiving capacity, the
				following areas shall be assessed: attachment to child, parenting history,
				physical and mental health, background checks and references;
(m) Working Parents. The willingness and
				ability of prospective adoptive parents who are employed outside the home to
				make arrangements to be with the child during the transition period must be
				considered. It is desirable that one parent be free to devote full time to the
				care of the child for a period of time after placement. The exact length of
				time is determined by the needs and the age of the child, and the needs of the
				child must be given priority over the employment situation of the
				parent;
(n) Department,
				community-based-care (CBC) or Sub-Contractor Employees, Guardian ad Litem
				Employees, or Guardian ad Litem volunteers. Employees of the Department, the
				Guardian ad Litem program, and the CBC, including subcontractor staff, and
				Guardian ad Litem volunteers, may be considered as adoptive applicants. In
				situations where the employee or volunteer has a close working relationship
				with the foster care or adoption staff in his or her local area, or had such a
				relationship within the past two (2) years, completion of the applicant's
				adoption home study process shall be conducted by a licensed child-placing
				adoption agency outside the local area. The CBC agency must be notified within
				72 hours when an application to adopt is received from a Department, CBC agency
				employee. The CBC agency will make a decision regarding whether the adoption
				home study for the employee will be completed by the CBC agency or if the
				services of another agency will be sought. If the decision is to have the
				employee's adoption home study and subsequent placement handled by another
				agency, the CBC agency shall make the necessary arrangements with the chosen
				agency. When an adoptive applicant is a member of a board or group which has
				actual or perceived authority over the Department, its CBC agency, its staff or
				operations, such applicant will be referred to another circuit or a local
				licensed child placing agency for handling;
(o) Criminal History. All adoptive parent
				applicants must disclose to the Department, CBC agency, or subcontractor agency
				any prior or pending local, state or national criminal proceedings in which
				they have been or are involved;
(p)
				Background Screening. All adoptive applicants and household members must
				complete the requirements for background screening as outlined in Rule
				 65C-16.007, F.A.C.;
(q) References. A minimum of five (5) written
				references shall be required. Only one (1) reference may be obtained from an
				employer and only two of the references may be obtained from a relative. All
				other references must be obtained from persons who either:
1) have observed the applicants in situations
				that give some indication for their capacity for parenthood, or
2) who as the result of their relationship to
				the applicant, possess documentation or knowledge of the applicant's capacity
				for parenthood. All references shall be provided directly to the agency person
				conducting the adoption home study by the person providing the reference;
				and
(r) The
				"Acknowledgement of Firearms Safety Requirements" form CF-FSP 5343, July 2017,
				incorporated by reference and available at
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-13390
,
				must be signed and dated by the adoptive applicants as a part of the adoption
				home study process. A copy of the signed form must be retained as a part of the
				approved adoption home study and a signed copy must be provided to the
				prospective adoptive parents.