Dependency Law Finder

(2)(a) The Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection must be a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who is a board-certified pediatrician with a subspecialty certification in child abuse from the American Board of Pediatrics. The Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection shall report directly to the Deputy Secretary for Children’s Medical Services.

(b) Each Child Protection Team medical director must be a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who is a board-certified physician in pediatrics or family medicine and, within 2 years after the date of employment as a Child Protection Team medical director, obtains a subspecialty certification in child abuse from the American Board of Pediatrics or within 2 years meet the minimum requirements established by a third-party credentialing entity recognizing a demonstrated specialized competence in child abuse pediatrics pursuant to paragraph (d). Each Child Protection Team medical director employed on July 1, 2015, must, by July 1, 2019, either obtain a subspecialty certification in child abuse from the American Board of Pediatrics or meet the minimum requirements established by a third-party credentialing entity recognizing a demonstrated specialized competence in child abuse pediatrics pursuant to paragraph (d). Child Protection Team medical directors shall be responsible for oversight of the teams in the circuits. Each Child Protection Team medical director shall report directly to the Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection.

(c) All medical personnel participating on a Child Protection Team must successfully complete the required Child Protection Team training curriculum as set forth in protocols determined by the Deputy Secretary for Children’s Medical Services and the Statewide Medical Director for Child Protection.

(d) Contingent on appropriations, the Department of Health shall approve one or more third-party credentialing entities for the purpose of developing and administering a professional credentialing program for Child Protection Team medical directors. Within 90 days after receiving documentation from a third-party credentialing entity, the department shall approve a third-party credentialing entity that demonstrates compliance with the following minimum standards:

(a) Medical diagnosis and evaluation services, including provision or interpretation of X rays and laboratory tests, and related services, as needed, and documentation of related findings.

(b) Telephone consultation services in emergencies and in other situations.

(c) Medical evaluation related to abuse, abandonment, or neglect, as defined by policy or rule of the Department of Health.

(d) Such psychological and psychiatric diagnosis and evaluation services for the child or the child’s parent or parents, legal custodian or custodians, or other caregivers, or any other individual involved in a child abuse, abandonment, or neglect case, as the team may determine to be needed.

(e) Expert medical, psychological, and related professional testimony in court cases.

(f) Case staffings to develop treatment plans for children whose cases have been referred to the team. A Child Protection Team may provide consultation with respect to a child who is alleged or is shown to be abused, abandoned, or neglected, which consultation shall be provided at the request of a representative of the family safety and preservation program or at the request of any other professional involved with a child or the child’s parent or parents, legal custodian or custodians, or other caregivers. In every such Child Protection Team case staffing, consultation, or staff activity involving a child, a family safety and preservation program representative shall attend and participate.

(g) Case service coordination and assistance, including the location of services available from other public and private agencies in the community.

(h) Such training services for program and other employees of the Department of Children and Families, employees of the Department of Health, and other medical professionals as is deemed appropriate to enable them to develop and maintain their professional skills and abilities in handling child abuse, abandonment, and neglect cases. The training service must include training in the recognition of and appropriate responses to head trauma and brain injury in a child under 6 years of age as required by ss. 402.402(2) and 409.988.

(i) Educational and community awareness campaigns on child abuse, abandonment, and neglect in an effort to enable citizens more successfully to prevent, identify, and treat child abuse, abandonment, and neglect in the community.

(j) Child Protection Team assessments that include, as appropriate, medical evaluations, medical consultations, family psychosocial interviews, specialized clinical interviews, or forensic interviews.

(a) Rickets.

(b) Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

(c) Osteogenesis imperfecta.

(d) Vitamin D deficiency.

(a) Injuries to the head, bruises to the neck or head, burns, or fractures in a child of any age.

(b) Bruises anywhere on a child 5 years of age or under.

(c) Any report alleging sexual abuse of a child.

(d) Any sexually transmitted disease in a prepubescent child.

(e) Reported malnutrition of a child and failure of a child to thrive.

(f) Reported medical neglect of a child.

(g) Any family in which one or more children have been pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital or other health care facility, or have been injured and later died, as a result of suspected abuse, abandonment, or neglect, when any sibling or other child remains in the home.

(h) Symptoms of serious emotional problems in a child when emotional or other abuse, abandonment, or neglect is suspected.

(i) A child who does not live in this state who is currently being evaluated in a medical facility in this state.

(a) A physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who holds board certification in pediatrics and is a member of a Child Protection Team;

(b) A physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who holds board certification in a specialty other than pediatrics, who may complete the review only when working under the direction of the Child Protection Team medical director or a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who holds board certification in pediatrics and is a member of a Child Protection Team;

(c) An advanced practice registered nurse licensed under chapter 464 who has a specialty in pediatrics or family medicine and is a member of a Child Protection Team;

(d) A physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, who may complete the review only when working under the supervision of the Child Protection Team medical director or a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who holds board certification in pediatrics and is a member of a Child Protection Team; or

(e) A registered nurse licensed under chapter 464, who may complete the review only when working under the direct supervision of the Child Protection Team medical director or a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who holds board certification in pediatrics and is a member of a Child Protection Team.

(a) The child was examined for the alleged abuse or neglect by a physician who is not a member of the Child Protection Team, and a consultation between the Child Protection Team medical director or a Child Protection Team board-certified pediatrician, advanced practice registered nurse, physician assistant working under the supervision of a Child Protection Team medical director or a Child Protection Team board-certified pediatrician, or registered nurse working under the direct supervision of a Child Protection Team medical director or a Child Protection Team board-certified pediatrician, and the examining physician concludes that a further medical evaluation is unnecessary;

(b) The child protective investigator, with supervisory approval, has determined, after conducting a child safety assessment, that there are no indications of injuries as described in paragraphs (5)(a)-(h) as reported; or

(c) The Child Protection Team medical director or a Child Protection Team board-certified pediatrician, as authorized in subsection (6), determines that a medical evaluation is not required.

(10)(a) Children’s Medical Services shall convene a task force to develop a standardized protocol for forensic interviewing of children suspected of having been abused. The Department of Health shall provide staff to the task force as necessary. The task force shall include:

(b) Children’s Medical Services must provide the standardized protocol to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by July 1, 2018.

(c) Members of the task force are not entitled to per diem or other payment for service on the task force.

(a) A child under the age of 18 who is alleged to be a victim of sexual abuse, his or her siblings, nonoffending caregivers, and family members who have been impacted by sexual abuse are eligible for services.

(b) Sexual abuse treatment programs must provide specialized therapeutic treatment to victims of child sexual abuse, their siblings, nonoffending caregivers, and family members to assist in recovery from sexual abuse, to prevent developmental impairment, to restore the children’s pre-abuse level of developmental functioning, and to promote healthy, non-abusive relationships. Therapeutic intervention services must include crisis intervention, clinical treatment, and individual, family, and group therapy.

(c) The sexual abuse treatment programs and Child Protection Teams must provide referrals for victims of child sexual abuse and their families, as appropriate.