R.D., THE MOTHER
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
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The trial court's final order terminating the mother's parental rights was properly entered and affirmed.
[1] Under the 2014 amendment to Florida Statutes section 39.806(1)(f), no proof of nexus between egregious conduct toward one child is required to support termination of pare…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Does the 2014 amendment to section 39.806(1)(f), Florida Statutes, which provides that no proof of nexus between egregious conduct toward one child is required to terminate the parental rights of the child's siblings, unconstitutionally remove the state's burden to prove that the egregious conduct poses a substantial risk of harm to each sibling and is the least restrictive means of protecting the sibling(s) from serious harm?”
The certified question of great public importance posed to the Florida Supreme Court
The mother appealed a circuit court's order terminating her parental rights under Florida's dependency statute. The case involved questions regarding …
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Carolyn Schwarz, Children’s Legal Services, Fort Lauderdale, for appellee Department of Children and Families.
Sara Elizabeth Goldfarb, Statewide Director of Appeals, and Sarah Todd Weitz, Senior Attorney, Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office, Tallahassee, for appellee Guardian ad Litem.
PER CURIAM.
We affirm without discussion, on all arguments raised, the circuit court’s final order terminating the mother’s parental rights. As in V.S. v. Department of Children & Families, 322 So. 3d 1153 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021), we also certify the following question of great public importance to the supreme court:
Does the 2014 amendment to section 39.806(1)(f), Florida Statutes, which provides that no proof of nexus between egregious conduct toward one child is required to terminate the parental rights of the child’s siblings, unconstitutionally remove the state’s burden to prove that the egregious conduct poses a substantial risk of harm to each sibling and is the least restrictive means of protecting the sibling(s) from serious harm?
Affirmed; question certified. CONNER, C.J., GERBER and KUNTZ, JJ., concur. * * * Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.