FL H0559

Adoption entities must annually report to the Department of Children and Families the number of adoptions that did not involve a relative, stepparent, or child from the child welfare system.

Court approval thresholds for adoption fees are revised upward: professional legal fees from $5,000 to $7,500, court costs from $800 to $1,000, and new categories are added including $5,000 for living/medical expenses and $1,500 for other compliance fees. Fees not supported by a receipt or not from the adoption entity are prohibited.

Courts must include a written determination of reasonableness when approving fees, costs, and expenses that exceed statutory limits, and may reject expenses not supported by a receipt.

The department's annual report to the Governor and Legislature must now include data on non-relative/non-stepparent adoptions, adoption dissolutions resulting in children entering the child welfare system, reasons for those dissolutions, and average adoption entity fees segmented by region.

The statewide adoption exchange photo listing is restricted to persons who have completed or are completing an adoption home study, and children age 12 or older must be consulted before their photo is listed. Referrals to the exchange shift from department districts to the department or community-based care lead agencies.