C.S. v. Department of Children & Families

I dissent. I would adopt the reasoning of O.R. v. Department of Children and Family Services, 979 So.2d 1105, 1106-1107 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008), which interpreted identical language in the dependency statute regarding the trial court’s authority to enter a consent. The Third District held that the similar dependency statute, section 39.506(3), Florida Statutes (2008), does not authorize the trial court to enter a consent when the parents appear for the first day of trial but are not present on a continuation of the trial.

Section 39.801(3)(d), Florida Statutes (2012), provides:

If a parent appears…