C.L., THE FATHER v. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledOctober 21, 2020
Docket3D20-0590
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed October 21, 2020.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D20-590
Lower Tribunal No. 14-16072
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C.L., the Father,
Appellant,
vs.
Department of Children and Families, et al.,
Appellees.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Laura Anne
Stuzin, Judge.
Thomas Butler, P.A., and Thomas J. Butler, for appellant.
Karla Perkins for appellee, Department of Children and Families; Thomasina
F. Moore and Laura J. Lee (Tallahassee) for appellee, Guardian ad Litem Program.
Before EMAS, C.J., and MILLER and GORDO, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Affirmed. See § 39.806(1)(e)3., Fla. Stat. (2019) (providing the following
may serve as a basis for termination of parental rights: “When a child has been
adjudicated dependent, a case plan has been filed with the court, and . . . [t]he child
has been in care for any 12 of the last 22 months and the parents have not
substantially complied with the case plan so as to permit reunification under s.
39.522(2) unless the failure to substantially comply with the case plan was due to
the parent's lack of financial resources or to the failure of the department to make
reasonable efforts to reunify the parent and child”); § 39.522(2), Fla. Stat. (2019)
(providing: “In cases where the issue before the court is whether a child should be
reunited with a parent, the court shall review the conditions for return and determine
whether the circumstances that caused the out-of-home placement and issues
subsequently identified have been remedied to the extent that the return of the child
to the home with an in-home safety plan prepared or approved by the department
will not be detrimental to the child's safety, well-being, and physical, mental, and
emotional health”).1
1 We find no merit in the other arguments raised by the Father, and need not (and
therefore do not) reach the constitutional issues raised.
2