Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services v. V.L.
Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services v. V.L.
Opinion of the Court
ON MOTION FOR REVIEW OF DENIAL OF STAY
The Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services requests review, pursuant to Rule 9.310(f), Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, of the trial court’s order denying stay of its order of December 14, 1990. The latter order required H.R.S. to place V.L., the dependent child, into “an appropriate secured, long-range, psychiatric facility ... within 10 calendar days” and to pay all fees, costs, and expenses associated with the hospitalization and medical treatment of V.L. We reverse.
Section 39.41(l)(d), Florida Statutes (1989), vests H.R.S. with all rights and responsibilities of a legal custodian when a child is committed to its temporary legal custody.
[I]t is crystal clear that it is within the discretion of the agency [HRS] to decide where to keep a child who is in its custody.... The courts are not given general supervisory power over the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services under the statutes.
Id. at 899 (citations omitted).
The trial court’s order of December 20, 1990, denying the stay and its order of December 21, 1990, vacating automatic stay pursuant to Rule 9.310(b), Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, are vacated. The trial court’s order of December 14, 1990, is stayed pending review. The review of that order may be expedited upon motion by a party.
ORDERS VACATED.
. The word "temporary” in the statute is somewhat of a misnomer since the term of custody continues until the child reaches eighteen years of age unless terminated by the court. This child is fifteen years old and has been in the custody of the court since she was nine months old.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.