(1) If the court finds that services and treatment have not been provided or utilized by a child or family, the court having jurisdiction of the child shall have the power to direct the least intrusive and least restrictive disposition, as follows:

(a) Order the parent, guardian, or custodian and the child to participate in treatment, services, and any other alternative identified as necessary.

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 984.22

  • Adult: means any natural person other than a child. See Florida Statutes 984.03
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Child in need of services: means a child for whom there is no pending investigation into an allegation or suspicion of abuse, neglect, or abandonment; no pending referral alleging the child is delinquent; or no current supervision by the Department of Juvenile Justice or the Department of Children and Families for an adjudication of dependency or delinquency. See Florida Statutes 984.03
  • Child support: means a court-ordered obligation, enforced under chapter 61 and ss. See Florida Statutes 984.03
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Department: means the Department of Juvenile Justice. See Florida Statutes 984.03
  • Family: means a collective body of persons, consisting of a child and a parent, guardian, adult custodian, or adult relative, in which:
    (a) The persons reside in the same house or living unit; or
    (b) The parent, guardian, adult custodian, or adult relative has a legal responsibility by blood, marriage, or court order to support or care for the child. See Florida Statutes 984.03
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Judge: means the circuit judge exercising jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter. See Florida Statutes 984.03
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Legal custody: means a legal status created by court order or letter of guardianship which vests in a custodian of the person or guardian, whether an agency or an individual, the right to have physical custody of the child and the right and duty to protect, train, and discipline the child and to provide him or her with food, shelter, education, and ordinary medical, dental, psychiatric, and psychological care. See Florida Statutes 984.03
  • Licensed child-caring agency: means a person, society, association, or agency licensed by the Department of Children and Families to care for, receive, and board children. See Florida Statutes 984.03
  • Parent: means a woman who gives birth to a child and a man whose consent to the adoption of the child would be required under…. See Florida Statutes 984.03
  • Relative: means a grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, first cousin, aunt, uncle, great-aunt, great-uncle, niece, or nephew, whether related by the whole or half blood, by affinity, or by adoption. See Florida Statutes 984.03
  • Temporary legal custody: means the relationship that a juvenile court creates between a child and an adult relative of the child, adult nonrelative approved by the court, or other person until a more permanent arrangement is ordered. See Florida Statutes 984.03
  • writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01
(b) Order the parent, guardian, or custodian to pay a fine or fee based on the recommendations of the department.
(2) When any child is adjudicated by the court to be a child in need of services, the court having jurisdiction of the child and parent, guardian, or custodian shall have the power, by order, to:

(a) Place the child under the supervision of the department’s contracted provider of programs and services for children in need of services and families in need of services. “Supervision,” for the purposes of this section, means services as defined by the contract between the department and the provider.
(b) Place the child in the temporary legal custody of an adult willing to care for the child.
(c) Commit the child to a licensed child-caring agency willing to receive the child and to provide services without compensation from the department.
(d) Order the child, and, if the court finds it appropriate, the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child, to render community service in a public service program.
(3) When any child is adjudicated by the court to be a child in need of services and temporary legal custody of the child has been placed with an adult willing to care for the child, a licensed child-caring agency, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the Department of Children and Families, the court shall order the natural or adoptive parents of such child, including the natural father of such child born out of wedlock who has acknowledged his paternity in writing before the court, or the guardian of such child’s estate if possessed of assets which under law may be disbursed for the care, support, and maintenance of such child, to pay child support to the adult relative caring for the child, the licensed child-caring agency, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the Department of Children and Families. When such order affects the guardianship estate, a certified copy of such order shall be delivered to the judge having jurisdiction of such guardianship estate. If the court determines that the parent is unable to pay support, placement of the child shall not be contingent upon issuance of a support order. The department may employ a collection agency for the purpose of receiving, collecting, and managing the payment of unpaid and delinquent fees. The collection agency must be registered and in good standing under chapter 559. The department may pay to the collection agency a fee from the amount collected under the claim or may authorize the agency to deduct the fee from the amount collected.
(4) All payments of fees made to the department under this chapter, or child support payments made to the department pursuant to subsection (3), shall be deposited in the General Revenue Fund.
(5) In carrying out the provisions of this chapter, the court shall order the child, family, parent, guardian, or custodian of a child who is found to be a child in need of services to participate in family counseling and other professional counseling activities or other alternatives deemed necessary for the rehabilitation of the child.
(6) The participation and cooperation of the family, parent, guardian, or custodian, and the child with court-ordered services, treatment, or community service are mandatory, not merely voluntary. The court may use its contempt powers to enforce its order.
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