Bill making adoption process more efficient heads to governor’s desk

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A bill that aims to reduce barriers to permanency and make adoption processes more efficient passed through the Senate floor Tuesday and will head to the governor’s desk.

Reps. Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Pierce, and Shane Abbott, R-DeFuniak Springs, sponsored HB 1083, which passed the Senate 30-0. Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, sponsored the Senate version of the bill.

Collins said the bill “will make the adoption process more efficient, less costly while reducing barriers to permanency.”

Specifically, the bill makes changes to streamline permanency by creating a legal process for orphan children, reducing wait times for successor guardians, providing flexibility for service of process and termination of parental rights hearings, and ensuring safe and appropriate placements, Collins explained.

It accelerates the time to permanency by reducing the number of months required to close a case in permanent guardianship from six to three months.

Collins said the bill also spells out current processes related to background checks to ensure alignment and compliance with federal requirements and will ensure the adoption photos of children seeking their “forever families” are protected and not available online for the general public to access.

The senator explained another “core component” of the bill. He said it would help solve the problems military families often face when trying to adopt as the bill “brings attention to this barrier” and will require the department to adopt rules to help streamline the process for those families.

Collins said in 2022, the legislature added law enforcement officers to listed professions that may receive adoption benefits. Currently, law enforcement officers are the only profession that may receive $25,000, while other professions receive $10,000.

The bill would add the benefit of $25,000 across other professions, rather than just law enforcement officers.

Collins said this bill is of “incredible importance” to him as he was adopted.

“If you don’t have a family and you time out of foster care, disproportionally, your chances of success in life are low,” Collins said. “This bill takes a vital step towards ensuring that we get our children homes. It’s something that each and every one of us in this room should be on top of support.”

The bill will head to the governor’s desk for final approval.