39.205 Penalties relating to reporting of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect.—
(1) A person who knowingly and willfully fails to report to the central abuse hotline known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or who knowingly and willfully prevents another person from doing so, commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. A judge subject to discipline pursuant to s. 12, Art. V of the State Constitution may not be subject to criminal prosecution when the information was received in the course of official duties.
(2) Unless the court finds that the person is a victim of domestic violence or that other mitigating circumstances exist, a person who is 18 years of age or older and lives in the same house or living unit as a child who is known or suspected to be a victim of child abuse, neglect of a child, or aggravated child abuse, and knowingly and willfully fails to report the child abuse commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(3) Any Florida College System institution, state university, or nonpublic college, university, or school, as defined in s. 1000.21 or s. 1005.02, whose administrators, upon receiving information from faculty, staff, or other institution employees, knowingly and willfully fail to report to the central abuse hotline known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect committed on the property of the university, college, or school, or during an event or function sponsored by the university, college, or school, or who knowingly and willfully prevent another person from doing so, shall be subject to fines of $1 million for each such failure.
(a) A Florida College System institution subject to a fine shall be assessed by the State Board of Education.
(b) A state university subject to a fine shall be assessed by the Board of Governors.
(c) A nonpublic college, university, or school subject to a fine shall be assessed by the Commission for Independent Education.
(4) Any Florida College System institution, state university, or nonpublic college, university, or school, as defined in s. 1000.21 or s. 1005.02, whose law enforcement agency fails to report to the central abuse hotline known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect committed on the property of the university, college, or school or during an event or function sponsored by the university, college, or school, shall be subject to fines of $1 million for each such failure, assessed in the same manner as specified in subsection (3).
(5) Any Florida College System institution, state university, or nonpublic college, university, or school, as defined in s. 1000.21 or s. 1005.02, shall have the right to challenge the determination that the institution acted knowingly and willfully under subsection (3) or subsection (4) in an administrative hearing pursuant to s. 120.57; however, if it is found that actual knowledge and information of known or suspected child abuse was in fact received by the institution’s administrators and was not reported, a presumption of a knowing and willful act will be established.
(6) A person who knowingly and willfully makes public or discloses any confidential information contained in the central abuse hotline or in the records of any child abuse, abandonment, or neglect case, except as provided in this chapter, commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
(7) The department shall establish procedures for determining whether a false report of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect has been made and for submitting all identifying information relating to such a report to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
(8) If the department or its authorized agent has determined during the course of its investigation that a report is a false report, the department may discontinue all investigative activities and shall, with the consent of the alleged perpetrator, refer the report to the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction for an investigation to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to refer the case for prosecution for filing a false report as defined in s. 39.01. During the pendency of the investigation, the department must notify the local law enforcement agency of, and the local law enforcement agency must respond to, all subsequent reports concerning children in that same family in accordance with s. 39.301. If the law enforcement agency believes that there are indicators of abuse, abandonment, or neglect, it must immediately notify the department, which must ensure the safety of the children. If the law enforcement agency finds sufficient evidence for prosecution for filing a false report, it must refer the case to the appropriate state attorney for prosecution.
(9) A person who knowingly and willfully makes a false report of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or who advises another to make a false report, is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Anyone making a report who is acting in good faith is immune from any liability under this subsection.
(10) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to implement this section as it relates to Florida College System institutions; the Commission for Independent Education shall adopt rules to implement this section as it relates to nonpublic colleges, universities, and schools; and the Board of Governors shall adopt regulations to implement this section as it relates to state universities.
(11) This section may not be construed to remove or reduce the requirement of any person, including, but not limited to, any employee of a school readiness program provider determined to be eligible under s. 1002.88; a private prekindergarten provider or a public school prekindergarten provider, as those terms are defined in s. 1002.51; a public K-12 school as described in s. 1000.04; a private school as defined in s. 1002.01; a Florida College System institution or a state university, as those terms are defined in s. 1000.21; a college as defined in s. 1005.02; or a school as defined in s. 1005.02, to directly report a known or suspected case of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect or the sexual abuse of a child to the department’s central abuse hotline. A person required to report to the central abuse hotline is not relieved of such obligation by notifying his or her supervisor.
Cited 9 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 32 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1117, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 11759, 112 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1578, 2011 WL 3111349
...Circumstantial evidence linked the report to the co-worker. Although an investigation resulted in a finding of no abuse or neglect, five DCF employees, within the plaintiffs district, accessed the report. An IG investigation found the employees violated DCF policy and section 39.205, Florida Statutes (2006)....
...should be the primary factor considered by a court in determining whether a cause of action exists when a statute does not expressly provide for one"). We find nothing in section 39.201 or related provisions that suggests such an intent. On the contrary, we note that section 39.205, which appears to address the subject of penalties for failure to report known or suspected child abuse makes such nonfeasance a first-degree misdemeanor. § 39.205(1), Fla....
Cited 4 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2002 WL 1371097
...e mother's visitation on grounds that she had falsely reported a charge of child abuse against him. On June 27, 2001, based upon a police report filed by the father, the mother was arrested on charges of falsely reporting child abuse in violation of section 39.205(6), Florida Statutes....
...ect, or who advises another to make a false report, is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Anyone making a report who is acting in good faith is immune from any liability under this subsection. § 39.205(6), Fla....
...The following week, arrest affidavits were presented to a state court judge, and arrest warrants were issued for Mr. Rossillo on child abuse charges and for Dr. Meyers, Ms. Bobet, and Ms. Drudge on charges of failure to report child abuse in violation of section 39.205, Florida Statutes....
...At that time, that section provided in pertinent part: "A person who is required to report known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect and who knowingly and willfully fails to do so, or who knowingly and willfully prevents another person from doing so, is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree ...." § 39.205(1), Fla....
...By the time they were released, however, local news crews were at the jail with video cameras. The case received significant coverage by the local television news. On June 18, 2003, the state attorney's office filed an information charging Ms. Drudge with violating section 39.205, Florida Statutes....
...Drudge moved to dismiss the charges against them, and their motions were granted on April 21, 2004. (Order Granting Motions to Dismiss in criminal case [hereinafter "State Court Order"], Ex. E to Doc. 54). In the State Court Order, a county judge agreed with the argument of Dr. Meyers and Ms. Drudge that sections 39.201 and 39.205, Florida Statutes, did not require reporting of known or suspected child abuse when the alleged perpetrator of the abuse is a public school teacher....
...[15] Ms. Drudge contends that "`[i]mmediate'... is not defined in the statute and is irrelevant[,] as the element required for violation of the statute is intentnot a poor choice of timing." (Doc. 52 at 23). However, this argument is not well-taken. Section 39.205(1) states that a person "who knowingly and willfully fails to [report] ......
...On another note, the State Court Order cites to the 2003 version of the Chapter 39 sections at issue. That version includes several changes that were made in June 2003the month after Ms. Drudge's arrestthat bear somewhat on this issue. The 2002 version of section 39.201 and 39.205, not the 2003 version, was in effect at the time of the issuance of the arrest warrant....
...unjustified and unreasonable and illegal imprisonment by police officers," "maintained an inadequate system of review of the filing of probable cause affidavits by police officers," and "maintained a system of grossly inadequate training pursuant to § 39.205 Fla....
Cited 2 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2006 WL 3780393
...medical examination is not the same as that afforded to an ordinary citizen. A doctor who has reasonable cause to suspect child abuse is required under section 39.201, Florida Statutes to report the abuse. Failure to make the report is a crime. See § 39.205, Fla....
...t confidential under section 39.202(1). [5] Should a DCF employee knowingly or willfully make public any of the confidential information contained in the bypass records the DCF receives, that employee is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree. § 39.205(3)....
Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2007 WL 2735807
...The State appeals an order granting Appellee, Lorraine Grayson's ["Grayson"] motion to dismiss an information. We reverse. The State filed an information against Grayson, alleging that on October 14, 2004, Grayson "knowingly and willfully" made a false report of child abuse in violation of sections 39.01(27) and 39.205(6), Florida Statutes (2004)....
...Several sections of Chapter 39 are relevant. Section 39.202(1), Florida Statutes (2004), provides that all calls to the central abuse hotline are confidential, but after a person is determined to have made a false report, that person is no longer entitled to confidentiality. See also §§ 39.205(5), 206(9), Fla....
...abuse to certain department employees and law enforcement. Section 39.301(5)(a)2, Florida Statutes (2004), requires a child protective investigator to inform any subject of an investigation of the purpose of the investigation. Sections 39.202(8) and 39.205(3) make it a second-degree misdemeanor to knowingly and willfully disclose confidential information from the abuse hotline to an unauthorized person, while section 39.205(6) provides that a person who knowingly and willfully makes a false report of child abuse is guilty of a third-degree felony....
...Section 39.01(27) defines "false report" as "a report of abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a child to the central abuse hotline which report is `maliciously made' for specified purposes such as harassment or acquiring custody of a child." The burden is on DCF to determine if a false report has been made. See § 39.205(4) & (5), Fla....
...In White, the State appealed an order suppressing evidence in a prosecution for making a false report of child abuse. The State had filed an information against White, alleging a knowing, willful, and malicious making of a false report of child abuse in violation of section 39.205(6), Florida Statutes....
...of child abuse. We affirm. On March 13, 2002, the State filed an information against appellee Antonia White and alleged that on September 21, 2001, White “knowingly, willfully, and maliciously” made a false report of child abuse in violation of section 39.205(6), Florida Statutes (2001)....
...e does not allow disclosure to the alleged. perpetrator. § 39.202(4). A person who knowingly and willfully discloses confidential information from the abuse hotline to an unauthorized person is guilty of a second-degree misdemeanor. §§ 39.202(7), 39.205(3). Section 39.205(6) provides that “[a] person who knowingly and willfully makes a false report of child abuse” is guilty of a third-degree felony....
...entral abuse hotline which report is maliciously made” for specified purposes such as harassment or acquiring custody of a child. Significantly, the statute places the burden on the Department to determine if a false report has been made. See *596 § 39.205(4), (5). If the Department determines that a report is false, then it shall refer the report to law enforcement. § 39.205(5)....
...KID, being a contract provider for the Department of Children and Families, although authorized to receive the reports and records of DCF regarding abuse to S.T., was not authorized to disclose the information to BASH, a childcare provider. If it had done so, it would have committed a misdemeanor. See § 39.205(3), Fla....
This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.
