The Florida Senate approved a bill that would restore a popular adoption subsidies program and repeal a 38 year old ban on gay adoption.
Don Gaetz (R) sponsored and pushed the bill through the Senate stating, “We’ve got 850 adoptable kids who are in foster care in group homes or individual foster homes in our state. If you want to look at it financially, it costs $30,000 a year per child to keep the kid in a group foster home and $6,000 per year per child to keep the kid in foster care in a regular foster home. More importantly, these 852 kids, 70 percent or more of them are special-needs kids.”
HB7013 was passed by a vote of 27-11. The bill will provide cash incentive to state workers who adopt children in Florida’s foster care system. Adoption subsidies had been previously dropped in 2009 as a result of the economic downturn. The bill looks to provide payments of $5,000 to government workers who adopt foster children, and $10,000 for the adoption of children with special needs. In addition to financial incentives, the bill also states that the State of Florida cannot deny adoption if the family wishes to home school the child.
Another feature of HB7013, which was contested by some, was a provision added by the House of Representatives in April calling for legal protection of gay adoption. In 2010 a Florida appeals court ruled against Florida’s 1977 ban on gay adoption, but the law was never changed.
There is some debate in the Senate as to whether or not the gay adoption repeal should be included within the same bill as the adoption subsidies program, as some legislators believe it should be a stand-alone bill. HB7013 is currently awaiting the approval or veto of Governor Rick Scott.
Related measure HB7111 was passed through the House, but rejected by the Florida Senate committee. The bill offered “conscience protection” to private adoption agencies whose moral or religious convictions prevent them from placing children with gay parents. The bill was intended to protect these agencies from losing their state licensing and/or funding for refusing to assist in adoptions on religious or moral grounds.
- Author
- Recent Posts
John Schutz
Partner at John F. Schutz, P.L.
Representing clients exclusively in family law cases for the past 24 years, Mr. Schutz is widely regarded as a marital and family law expert. He is Board Certified in marital and family law by The Florida Bar. As a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), Mr. Schutz is committed to elevating the standards and improving the practice of family law.
Latest posts by John Schutz (see all)
- Is a Simplified Dissolution of Marriage a Viable Option? - October 29, 2019
- What are the Types of Alimony in Florida? - October 19, 2019
- Property Division In Florida - October 8, 2019
Social Media Linked to Divorce (Again)
According to a new survey conducted by United Kingdom law[...]
Divorce: Nurture or Nature?
Is Divorce Genetic? A recent study conducted by researchers at[...]
Adoption & Marriage Woes for Same-Sex Couple
The legalization of same-sex marriage has caused a major problem[...]