B.W., THE MOTHER v. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed May 24, 2023.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D21-2409
Lower Tribunal No. 21-15441
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B.W., The Mother,
Appellant,
vs.
Department of Children and Families, et al.,
Appellees.
An appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Rosy Aponte,
Judge.
Thomas Butler, P.A., and Thomas J. Butler, for appellant.
Karla Perkins, for appellee Department of Children & Families;
Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, and Kimberly Kanoff
Berman (Fort Lauderdale); Sara E. Goldfarb (Tallahassee), for appellee
Guardian ad Litem.
Before HENDON, MILLER, and LOBREE, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Appellant, B.W., the mother, appeals from an adjudication of
dependency as to her minor child. The petition for dependency, filed below,
alleged a myriad of grounds, but the adjudicatory hearing focused on a
discrete series of domestic incidents. At the conclusion of the hearing, the
lower court granted the petition on the basis that “the [m]other displayed lack
of behavioral control and impulse control and that there is a substantial risk
of harm to the [c]hild because the [m]other has a poor understanding of how
the violent behavior taking place affects her [c]hild.” Relying upon the
opinion of our sister court in C.W. v. Dep’t of Child. & Fams., 10 So. 3d 136(Fla. 1st DCA 2009), as well as the opinion of this court in C.R. v. Dep’t of
Child. & Fams., 45 So. 3d 988 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010), we find the record devoid
of competent, substantial evidence the child was “abandoned, abused, or
neglected,” or at “substantial risk of imminent abuse, abandonment, or
neglect” by the mother. § 39.01(14)(a), (f), Fla. Stat. (2021); see also C.W.,
10 So. 3d at 138–39 (reversing trial court’s finding of dependency of three-
month-old child where record contained no evidence that child was aware of
domestic violence incident or was physically or mentally harmed); C.R., 45
So. 3d at 989 (finding past history of domestic abuse insufficient to support
finding of dependency where child’s parents separated, and court injunction
was entered to prevent any contact between parents); In re K.B., 937 So. 2d
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709, 711 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006) (“[T]he Department presented no evidence that
the children suffered any physical or mental injury as a result of witnessing
the [domestic violence] altercation or that the Father posed any current threat
of harm to them. In the absence of such evidence, the trial court’s finding of
dependency cannot stand.”); In re N.F., 82 So. 3d 1188, 1196 (Fla. 2d DCA
2012) (holding allegation of domestic violence between child’s parents was
insufficient to justify termination of parental rights where there “was no
assertion that the child had witnessed or been affected by the mother’s
battery of others or by their battery of her”); R.S. v. Dep’t of Child. & Fams.,
881 So. 2d 1130, 1133–35 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004) (finding father’s poor
parenting skills, lack of attachment to children, and substance abuse and
anger management issues constituted insufficient evidence that children
were at substantial risk of imminent harm to justify adjudication of
dependency); B.J. v. Dep’t of Child. & Fams., 190 So. 3d 191, 195 (Fla. 3d
DCA 2016) (reversing trial court’s order of adjudication of dependency of
minor child where Department of Children and Families failed to demonstrate
requirement under section 39.01(14)(f) of substantial risk of imminent
abuse); In re J.L., 824 So. 2d 1023, 1025 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (reversing
adjudication of dependency where evidence was insufficient “to establish a
nexus between the father’s health issues and his potential to harm or neglect
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J.L.”). Accordingly, “[i]n the absence of any evidentiary finding that the child
appreciated or suffered any physical or mental injury, or a finding that the
mother posed a current threat of harm to the child, the trial court’s finding of
dependency cannot stand.” C.W., 10 So. 3d at 139. We therefore reverse
the order under review without prejudice to the Department to reinstitute
dependency proceedings, if appropriate, at such time as it is evident that
such action is warranted.
Reversed and remanded.
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