Florida SB 1002: Guardianship

Bill Text

1002 
Child Welfare 
2026-01-28T08:55:18Z 
Revising the definition of the term “harm” to provide that exposure of a child to a controlled substance may be established by evidence of acute or chronic use of a controlled substance by a parent to a specified extent; revising the definition of the term “neglect” to provide that neglect occurs when there is evidence of acute or chronic use of a controlled substance by a parent to a specified extent, etc. 
Committee Substitute 1 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
c1 

 Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 1002 

 By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and 
 Senator Gaetz 

 586-02238-26 20261002c1 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to child welfare; amending s. 39.01, 
 3 F.S.; revising the definition of the term “harm” to 
 4 provide that exposure of a child to a controlled 
 5 substance may be established by evidence of acute or 
 6 chronic use of a controlled substance by a parent to a 
 7 specified extent; revising the definition of the term 
 8 “neglect” to provide that neglect occurs when there is 
 9 evidence of acute or chronic use of a controlled 
 10 substance by a parent to a specified extent; 
 11 reenacting ss. 39.521(1)(c), 39.6012(1)(c), 
 12 39.806(1)(k), 61.13(2)(c), 61.401, 61.402(3), 
 13 390.01114(2)(b), 744.309(3), 984.03(24), and 
 14 1001.42(8)(c), F.S., relating to disposition hearings 
 15 and powers of disposition; case plan tasks and 
 16 services; grounds for termination of parental rights; 
 17 support of children, parenting and time-sharing, and 
 18 powers of the court; appointment of guardian ad litem; 
 19 qualifications of guardians ad litem; the Parental 
 20 Notice of and Consent for Abortion Act; who may be 
 21 appointed guardian of a resident ward; definitions; 
 22 and powers and duties of district school board, 
 23 respectively, to incorporate the amendment made to s. 
 24 39.01, F.S., in references thereto; providing an 
 25 effective date. 
 26 
 27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 28 
 29 Section 1. Paragraph (g) of subsection (37) and subsection 
 30 (53) of section 39.01, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 
 31 39.01 Definitions.—When used in this chapter, unless the 
 32 context otherwise requires: 
 33 (37) “Harm” to a child’s health or welfare can occur when 
 34 any person: 
 35 (g) Exposes a child to a controlled substance or alcohol. 
 36 Exposure to a controlled substance or alcohol is established by: 
 37 1. A test, administered at birth, which indicated that the 
 38 child’s blood, urine, or meconium contained any amount of 
 39 alcohol or a controlled substance or metabolites of such 
 40 substances, the presence of which was not the result of medical 
 41 treatment administered to the mother or the newborn infant; or 
 42 2. Evidence of extensive, abusive, and chronic use of a 
 43 controlled substance or alcohol by a parent to the extent that 
 44 the parent’s ability to provide supervision and care for the 
 45 child has been or is likely to be severely compromised; or 
 46 3. Evidence of acute or chronic use of a controlled 
 47 substance by a parent to the extent that the ongoing threat of 
 48 the parent’s future intoxication compromises the parent’s 
 49 ability to guarantee and provide supervision and care for the 
 50 child. 
 51 
 52 As used in this paragraph, the term “controlled substance” means 
 53 prescription drugs not prescribed for the parent or not 
 54 administered as prescribed and controlled substances as outlined 
 55 in Schedule I or Schedule II of s. 893.03. 
 56 (53) “Neglect” occurs when: 
 57 (a) A child is deprived of, or is allowed to be deprived 
 58 of, necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment or a 
 59 child is permitted to live in an environment when such 
 60 deprivation or environment causes the child’s physical, mental, 
 61 or emotional health to be significantly impaired or to be in 
 62 danger of being significantly impaired. The foregoing 
 63 circumstances shall not be considered neglect if caused 
 64 primarily by financial inability unless actual services for 
 65 relief have been offered to and rejected by such person. A 
 66 parent or legal custodian legitimately practicing religious 
 67 beliefs in accordance with a recognized church or religious 
 68 organization who thereby does not provide specific medical 
 69 treatment for a child may not, for that reason alone, be 
 70 considered a negligent parent or legal custodian; however, such 
 71 an exception does not preclude a court from ordering the 
 72 following services to be provided, when the health of the child 
 73 so requires: 
 74 1.(a) Medical services from a licensed physician, dentist, 
 75 optometrist, podiatric physician, or other qualified health care 
 76 provider; or 
 77 2.(b) Treatment by a duly accredited practitioner who 
 78 relies solely on spiritual means for healing in accordance with 
 79 the tenets a