Child Welfare

Added a new definition of 'harm' to the Florida Statutes that establishes exposure to controlled substances as abuse if a parent has acute or chronic use compromising their ability to care for the child.

Revised the definition of 'neglect' to include environments where a child's safety is impaired by a parent's acute or chronic substance use.

Created a rebuttable presumption that shared parental responsibility is detrimental to a child if a parent has a conviction for specific offenses involving minors.

Required courts to order substance abuse assessments and treatment for parents whose children are adjudicated dependent based on the new definition of harm.

Modified school notification laws to allow districts to withhold information from parents if disclosure would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect as defined by the new statute.

Updated grounds for terminating parental rights to include cases where a mother has multiple children adjudicated dependent due to substance exposure.