South Florida Criminal Attorneys Blog
The mission of the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) as specified on their Website “is to work in partnership with local communities to protect the vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families, and advance personal and family recovery and resiliency.”
The Courts that oversee cases brought by DCF in South Florida are known as Dependency Courts and will bend over backwards to keep young children together with their natural parents. In cases of parental abuse, although evidence will be weighed to remove a child in some cases, the overwhelming decision of the court is keeping a family united.
The Florida Dependency Court Information System (FDCIS) is a web-based case management system that provides the Court with resources to receive up-to-date information for what has been signaled to DCF to be potentially abused and neglected children. Its other function is to assure timeliness of court events. This system basically provides the court with what is deemed to be reliable data which is entered into the system to assist judges in making proper decisions. The system also utilizes data exchanges with various other agencies.