D.W. v. Department of Children & Families

The father appeals an adjudication of dependency. We affirm.

In his first issue, the father argues that the trial court erred by admitting the child’s hearsay statements without a showing that the child was competent to testify. The trial court properly rejected this argument, finding it contrary to the holdings in State v. Townsend, 635 So.2d 949 (Fla.1994), Glendening v. State, 536 So.2d 212, 219 n. 6 (Fla.1988) and Perez v. State, 536 So.2d 206 (Fla.1988). As the supreme court stated in Townsend, “[I]t is the par*992ticularized guarantees of trustworthiness that ensure the reliability of a…