Florida Court Case: Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services v. Benson

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, STATE OF FLORIDA, Petitioner, v. HON. SEYMOUR BENSON, CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE, ETC., Respondent.

COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA, FIFTH DISTRICT 

606 So. 2d 1272; 17 Fla. L. Weekly D 2476 

October 30, 1992, Filed 


Released for Publication November 18, 1992. 

Petition for Writ of Prohibition or Certiorari. A Case of Original Jurisdiction. 

PETITION GRANTED; WRIT ISSUED. 

COUNSEL:
James A. Sawyer, Jr., Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, Orlando, for Petitioner.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Ana Cristina Martinez, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Respondent. 

JUDGES:
DIAMANTIS, DAUKSCH, PETERSON 

OPINION:

DIAMANTIS, J.
The Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS) seeks a writ of certiorari n1 to review the order of the trial court which requires HRS, or its designated agency or professional in Seminole County, to do a home study in an adoption proceeding. The trial court held that because the licensed clinical social worker who had prepared the prior home study did not have an office in Seminole County where the prospective adoptive parents reside, Chapter 92-96, § 9, Laws of Florida, amending section 63.092(2) of the Florida Statutes (1991), required HRS or its designated agent with offices in Seminole County to prepare the home study. 

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n1 HRS sought alternative relief in the form of either a writ of certiorari or a writ of prohibition. We conclude that certiorari review is appropriate.

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Section 63.092(2), as amended, requires HRS to perform the preliminary home study only if there is no licensed child-placing agency or licensed professional in the county where the prospective adoptive parents reside. The statute is intended to ensure the availability of adoption services in sparsely populated counties. Because the respondent does not contend that there are no qualified agencies or professionals in Seminole County, section 63.092(2) does not apply. Therefore, the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law in requiring HRS or its designated agent in Seminole County to perform a further home study. 
The petition is granted and the writ issued quashing the trial court's order. 
PETITION GRANTED; WRIT ISSUED. 

DAUKSCH and PETERSON, J.J., concur.

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© This information is from the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy.

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