65C-30.019. Missing Children

(1) Notification to Law Enforcement.

(a) Exigent Circumstances. The child’s caregiver, legal guardian, child welfare professional or designee shall immediately report a child as missing to law enforcement when:

1. The child is under age 13,

2. The child has a physical or mental incapacity, or a developmental or behavioral challenge that renders the situation more dangerous than it would be for a child with more maturity or resources,

3. The child is with others who may endanger his or her safety,

4. The child is known or believed to be in a dangerous or life-threatening situation,

5. The child has been identified as a victim of human trafficking, or

6. The child is missing under circumstances inconsistent with established behaviors.

(b) When none of the criteria in paragraph (a), apply, the child’s caregiver, legal guardian, child welfare professional or designee may take up to four hours from the time the child is first suspected to be missing to actively search for and attempt to locate the child prior to contacting local law enforcement. Active search efforts include:

1. Searching the child’s belongings.

2. Calling/texting the child’s cell phone.

3. Checking the child’s computer, social media accounts, or other online accounts.

4. Contacting the child’s friends, relatives, or known associates.

5. Searching areas that the child is known to frequent.

6. Contacting the child’s school.

7. Contacting the child’s employer.

(c) Caregiver or Legal Guardian Notification to Child Welfare Professional. After notifying law enforcement, the caregiver or legal guardian shall immediately notify the child welfare professional or designee that the child’s whereabouts are unknown. If the child welfare professional learns that the child’s caregiver or legal guardian has not reported the child as missing to local law enforcement within the timeframes set forth in paragraphs (1)(a)-(b) of this rule, the child welfare professional or designee shall immediately report the child as missing to local law enforcement.

(2) Take Into Custody and Pickup Orders. If a child in an active child protective investigation or is part of a family receiving ongoing in-home case management services is determined to be missing, the child welfare professional shall staff the case with Children’s Legal Services or the contracted legal provider immediately but no later than 24 hours after the child is determined to be missing, to assess whether a Take Into Custody or Pickup Order should be obtained.

(a) Factors in this assessment should include but are not limited to:

1. Law enforcement will not initiate efforts to locate the child without a court order.

2. The caregiver or legal guardian of a child not in the custody of the Department is refusing to cooperate with efforts to locate the child, including:

a. The caregiver or legal guardian has not reported the child as missing to local law enforcement within the timeframes set forth in paragraphs (1)(a)-(b) of this rule, and continues to refuse to do so despite being informed of the requirement.

b. There is reason to believe the child’s whereabouts are known by the caregiver or legal guardian and the lack of cooperation is for the purpose of denying the child welfare professional access to the child, or the family has or is about to flee to avoid further agency intervention.

3. Parent case plan compliance.

4. Caregiver’s protective capacity.

5. The most recent progress update or family functioning assessment.

6. The most recent present or impending danger safety plan.

(b) If a Pickup or Take Into Custody Order is determined to be appropriate, Children’s Legal Services or the contracted legal provider shall attempt to obtain a court order as soon as possible, but no later than four hours, from the point of determination.

(c) If the Pickup or Take Into Custody Order has been or will be sought, missing child procedures will be followed in accordance with subsections (1) and (3)-(6) of this rule.

(d) If the Pickup or Take Into Custody Order is not sought or is denied by the court, diligent search efforts to locate the child(ren) or family must be made until the case is closed in accordance with Rules 65C-30.003 and 65C-29.013, F.A.C. and a Request to Locate Alert shall be placed on the child welfare information system case file.

(3) The child welfare professional or designee shall enter the electronic missing child report (MCR) in the child welfare information system as quickly as possible but no later than 24 hours of determining that the child is missing.

(4) Notification Requirements.

(a) When the whereabouts of a child in the custody of the Department are unknown, the child welfare professional or designee shall notify as applicable the following based on their engagement in the case: his or her immediate supervisor, the Regional Criminal Justice Coordinator (RCJC), the child’s caregivers or legal custodians, guardian ad litem and attorney ad litem, Children’s Legal Services or the contracted legal provider, the child’s therapist, the child’s Juvenile Probation Officer, the Region Compact Specialist, the United States Customs and Border Protection and the Department of State, and any other person the child welfare professional deems essential who is not otherwise prohibited by law, Florida Administrative Code, or court order, within four hours of learning a child’s whereabouts are unknown.

(b) Children’s Legal Services or the contracted legal provider must file notice with the court within one business day after being notified that a child is missing. Notice to the court shall be documented in the child welfare information system within one business day of court notification.

(c) The Department shall review the missing child report to ensure that it meets reporting criteria for case opening with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)/Missing and Endangered Person Information Clearinghouse and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

(5) Efforts to Locate Missing Child.

(a) The child welfare professional shall make efforts to locate the child at least once a week, until:

1. The child is located,

2. The child turns 18, or

3. If investigation has not yet been transferred to case management and the child protective investigator has obtained sufficient information to close the investigation, including:

(I) The conditions or circumstances which were the basis for the pickup order no longer exist.

(II) Another state child welfare agency with comparable jurisdiction to the Department has interviewed all available subjects of the investigation and reports no concerns with the child’s current living situation and the investigator obtains the issuing court’s approval to dismiss the Take Into Custody or Pickup order.

4. The dependency or ongoing services case is closed by the court, or the Pickup or the Take Into Custody Order is denied by the court having jurisdiction over the child. Prior to case closure, all agencies notified that the child was missing must be contacted and notified that the case will be closed. A copy of the case file will be offered to local law enforcement for their continuing efforts to locate the child, in the event a missing persons case remains active with law enforcement.

(b) Child welfare professionals or their designees shall be responsible for conducting both field-based and desk activities to locate the child, including:

1. Onsite visits to locations where the child may be found.

2. Onsite collateral source contact interviews (e.g., interviews of teachers, employers, relatives, etc.),

3. Use of electronic databases and information systems (e.g., parent locator services, ACCESS Florida, Accurint, etc.); and,

4. Checking mobile apps that are popular among youth.

(c) For children reported missing while the family is involved in a child protective investigation, the investigator or designee shall make efforts to locate the child until the closure of the investigation. Upon closure of the investigation, the efforts to locate will transfer to the Regional Criminal Justice Coordinator or their designee.

(d) A missing child staffing must be held at a minimum every thirty days to provide updates to the individuals notified in paragraph (4)(a) of this rule. This meeting will be scheduled by the individual responsible for completing efforts to locate the child or their designee.

(e) All efforts to locate the child shall be documented as a Missing Child – Attempt to Locate note type in the child welfare information system within two business days of the effort to locate.

(6) Procedures Required When Child is Located.

(a) Upon learning that a missing child has been located, the child welfare professional shall respond immediately to the child’s location to assess the child’s safety. If the child is located outside of the child welfare professional’s service area, but within the state of Florida, the child welfare professional shall immediately make an Out of Town Inquiry (OTI) or case management request of the county in which the child is located to assess the child’s safety. If the child is located outside of the state of Florida, the child welfare professional shall immediately contact their Regional Criminal Justice Coordinator and the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Interstate Compact on Juveniles (ICJ) office to determine next steps. The Department Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) office must also be contacted if placement of the child in another state may be appropriate.

1. When the child is located, the child welfare professional or designee shall immediately notify all individuals and agencies previously notified pursuant to paragraph (4)(a) of this rule.

2. If the child welfare professional has reason to believe the child’s caregiver or legal guardian was uncooperative with efforts to locate the child for the purpose of denying the child welfare professional access to the child and immediate notification would further impede the investigation or dependency case, the caregiver or legal guardian may be notified of the child’s whereabouts after the child’s safety has been assessed.

(b) The child welfare professional shall interview the child within 24 hours to determine the child’s need for additional services and/or change in placement. The interview shall:

1. Determine the primary factors that contributed to the child running away (if the child ran away); and,

2. Inquire into the child’s experience while absent from care, including identifying if the child has a history of running away, sexual abuse, or the child discloses being trafficked or reporting sexual exploitation. If any one of these indicators are present, the child welfare professional shall screen the child to determine if the child is a possible victim of trafficking pursuant to Chapter 65C-43, F.A.C.

(c) If a change in placement is required, the child welfare professional must follow the outcome of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) staffing outlined in Section 39.4022, F.S. and transition planning outlined in Section 39.4023, F.S.

(d) All notifications provided in paragraph (4)(a) of this rule, and all efforts to interview the child shall be documented in the child welfare information system as a Missing Child – Debriefing note type within one business day of the attempted interview.

(e) The child welfare professional or designee shall document the child’s recovery in the child welfare information system by completing the electronic Rapid or Standard Recovery within 24 hours upon learning that a missing child has been located, has turned 18 years of age, or whose case was judicially closed (unless this ruling is under consideration for or in the process of appeal). The Department shall review the missing child recovery report to ensure that the case meets case closure criteria with the FDLE/Missing and Endangered Person Information Clearinghouse.

Rulemaking Authority 39.012, 39.0121(16), 39.0141 FS. Law Implemented 39.0141, 39.4022 FS. History–New 5-4-06, Amended 2-25-16, 1-11-18, 6-5-23.