Child Abuse and Neglect: Florida Administrative Agencies

The Florida Department of Children and Families provides information and resources concerning all legal aspects of family life in Florida.  This includes current legislative information; various services including background checks, foster care, child care, etc.; forms and other publications; and links to local resources.

• Child Welfare.  "The Department’s Child Welfare Program works in partnership with local communities, courts and tribes to ensure the safety, timely permanency and well-being of children. The people who work in the Child Welfare Program conduct, supervise and administer programs for dependent children and their families."
• Child Care.  "The Department of Children and Families Office of Child Care Regulation and Background Screening is statutorily responsible for the administration of child care licensing and training throughout Florida. The purpose of this program is to ensure that children are well cared for in a safe, healthy, positive and educational environment by trained, qualified child care staff.
  This program currently regulates licensed child care facilities, licensed family day care homes, licensed large family child care homes, and licensed mildly ill facilities in 62 of the 67 counties in Florida. In addition, the Office of Child Care Regulation and Background Screening administer the registration of family day care homes not required to be licensed."
• Community-Based Care.  "Community-Based Care is a comprehensive redesign of Florida's Child Welfare   System. It combines the outsourcing of foster care and related services to   competent service agencies with an increased local community ownership of   service delivery and design. This innovative statewide reform increases   accountability, resource development, and system performance."
• Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children.  "The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children ensures protection and services to Florida children who are placed across state lines with parents, relatives, or in foster care and adoptive placements and for children from other states who are placed in Florida."
• Local Resources.
• Select a service from the drop-down and enter your zipcode.
• Dots will appear on the map if a service is available at your location.
• Click dots to view services at that location, click any service to view more details.
• Zoom in to view detailed map information.

"The Florida Child Abuse Hotline accepts reports 24 hours a day and 7 days a week of known or suspected child abuse, neglect, or abandonment and reports of known or suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

To make a report you can -

• report online at https://reportabuse.dcf.state.fl.us/
• call 1-800-962-2873
• use 711 for Florida Relay Services
• fax your report to 1-800-914-0004

If you suspect or know of a child or vulnerable adult in immediate danger, call 911."

"There are more than 8,000 children in foster care in the state of Florida who are under the care of the Department of Children and Families. DCF works diligently with its 18 community-based partners across the state to license and train foster parents who offer loving temporary homes for these children. Please consider becoming a foster parent for a child in need today.

Today's foster parents are highly skilled, respected members of a team who love and nurture children, support and mentor families and strengthen their communities. Our foster parents are highly committed, well-trained, patient, persistent and idealistic. Like every parent, they are part teacher, part doctor, part counselor and part advocate. Because of the amazing foster parents in Florida, our most vulnerable children are growing up to be productive, contributing citizens.

The Department of Children and Families contracts with 20 community-based care partners who provide prevention, intervention, foster care and adoption services to thousands of families in this state. Together, we are doing more than ever to support excellent parenting and to include foster families as partners in our mission to strengthen children and families.

Hundreds of families across Florida are volunteering to make a difference in the lives of children and families in need. But we need more. There are many young children, teens and sibling groups who don't have a place to call home."

"Explore Adoption is a statewide adoption initiative aimed at promoting the benefits of public adoption. Explore Adoption urges families to consider creating or expanding their families by adopting a child who is older, has special needs, or is a part of a sibling group. Through public education, expanded partnerships and social media, Explore Adoption invites Floridians to learn more about the children immediately available for adoption in their home state and community. The initiative puts a new face on public adoption by telling many stories of families who have enriched their lives by adopting Florida's children.  Florida will never give up on finding an adoptive family for a child."