(1) The Department of Children and Families shall establish, either directly or through purchase, a statewide adoption exchange, with a photo listing component, which shall serve all authorized licensed child-placing agencies in the state as a means of recruiting adoptive families for children who have been legally freed for adoption and who have been permanently placed with the department or a licensed child-placing agency. The exchange shall provide descriptions and photographs of such children, as well as any other information deemed useful in the recruitment of adoptive families for each child. The photo listing component of the adoption exchange must be updated monthly.

(2)(a) Each district of the department shall refer each child in its care who has been legally freed for adoption to the adoption exchange no later than 30 days after the date of acceptance by the department for permanent placement. The referral must be accompanied by a photograph and description of the child.

(b) The department shall establish criteria by which a district may determine that a child need not be registered with the adoption exchange. Within 30 days after the date of acceptance by the department for permanent placement, the name of the child accepted for permanent placement must be forwarded to the statewide adoption exchange by the district together with reference to the specific reason why the child should not be placed on the adoption exchange. If the child has not been placed for adoption within 3 months after the date of acceptance by the department for permanent placement, the district shall provide the adoption exchange with the necessary photograph and information for registration of the child with the adoption exchange and the child shall be placed on the exchange. The department shall establish procedures for monitoring the status of children who are not placed on the adoption exchange within 30 days after the date of acceptance by the department for permanent placement.

(3) In accordance with rules established by the department, the adoption exchange may accept, from licensed child-placing agencies, information pertaining to children meeting the criteria of this section, and to prospective adoptive families, for registration with the exchange.

(4) The adoption exchange shall provide the photo listing service to all licensed child-placing agencies and, in accordance with rules established by the department, to all appropriate citizen groups and other organizations and associations interested in children’s services.

(5) Children who are registered with the statewide adoption exchange and for whom there is no available family resource shall be registered with existing regional and national adoption exchanges.

(6) The department shall adopt rules governing the operation of the statewide adoption exchange.

History.—s. 2, ch. 83-246; s. 47, ch. 94-164; s. 114, ch. 97-101; s. 175, ch. 2014-19.