State Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services v. Castagnino

GRIMES, Acting Chief Judge.

This petition for writ of certiorari involves the question of whether out-of-state residents may adopt a child in the State of Florida.

Respondents, residents of Massachusetts, seek to adopt a child born in Pinellas County. The child currently resides in a foster home in St. Petersburg. The Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services moved to have the petition for adoption dismissed on the grounds that the adoption would violate section 63.207, Florida Statutes (1981), and that because respondents live in Massachusetts, the department could not conduct a home…