Bill > H0511

This bill modifies Florida's child protective investigation procedures by introducing several key changes. First, the bill allows the Department of Children and Families to delay immediately forwarding allegations of criminal conduct to law enforcement if a parent or legal custodian has alleged a preexisting medical diagnosis or is requesting a specific child examination. Child protective investigators must now inform subjects of an investigation about an additional duty: reporting any preexisting medical diagnoses specified in the law and providing supporting medical records. The bill also requires Child Protection Teams to consult with licensed physicians or advanced practice registered nurses when evaluating reports involving specific medical conditions like rickets, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, osteogenesis imperfecta, vitamin D deficiency, and other conditions that might be mistaken for abuse. Additionally, the bill provides parents or legal custodians from whom a child was removed the right to request certain medical examinations, such as a Child Protection Team examination or an examination by a physician to obtain a second opinion or rule out specific diagnoses. These examinations must be paid for by the parent, through insurance, or Medicaid, and cannot be requested to obtain a second opinion about sexual abuse. The bill is set to take effect on July 1, 2025, and aims to provide more comprehensive and nuanced approaches to child protective investigations involving complex medical conditions.

Health and Social Services, Justice

Human Services Subcommittee (H), Judiciary Committee (H)

https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/511