DCF child abuse records are confidential and exempt from public record requests, except where required by law. Florida statute §39.202 permits the person who has legal custody of the child (or the young adult who was in DCF custody) to obtain DCF records.
Under Florida statute §39.202(7)(a), DCF is generally required to maintain records of its cases until the child that is the subject of the record is 30 years old. You can submit a research record request at: Public Records Center (mycusthelp.com)
Divorce and Confidentiality
In Florida, all divorce cases are public records. Florida has an extensive Public Records Act. In fact, most domestic relationship cases are public records, including paternity cases and child support cases. The main exception to the Florida Public Records Act is adoption cases. Adoption records are not public records. Adoption files are sealed and require a court order to be opened. The only people who can obtain adoption records are the parties to the promotion. The purpose of keeping these records sealed is to protect the children involved. Along with adoption cases, parental rights waiver cases and dependency cases are also not public records.
If the records are public, it means anyone can get information about a person’s divorce or other domestic relationship cases. You do not have to be part of the promotion to receive information. This information can be obtained from the clerk of the court for the county where the case was filed. The final divorce decree can also be viewed at the Florida Office of Vital Statistics, and documents can be obtained for a fee. What differs from county to county is how public records are made available. In some counties, all divorce records and other domestic relationship records can be accessed online through the court clerk’s website. However, you often only see the title of the document stored in the case, but not the content of the document.
What is a Florida Parenting Plan?
In custody and Florida divorces involving minor children, the court issues a parenting plan. The parenting plan describes how the parents share the responsibilities and authorities to make decisions about the children. The parenting plan should at least describe how the parents share and are responsible for the child. Also, you must indicate the time the children will spend with each parent. The plan must also establish who is responsible for medical care, school affairs, and extracurricular activities.
There is no single parent plan for all custody cases in Florida. Instead, the terms vary based on the specific facts of each case. The court will try to set a schedule that is in the best interests of the children. Some of the common time-share schedules in Florida parenting plans are:
How Does a Criminal Record Affect Child Custody?
A family judge has a wide discretion when making a child custody decision. The judge will consider several factors in his decision-making process, including:
- type and nature of the offense
- age at the time of sentencing
- type and length of sentence for the Conviction
- Number of convictions in your log
- Crime victim