---
type: "Bill"
title: "Child Welfare Placements"
description: "Child Welfare Placements; Authorizes DCF to place children in its custody in therapeutic group homes for residential mental health treatment without prior court approval; defines \"therapeutic group home\"; provides that DCF, rather than AHCA, shall appoint qualified evaluators to conduct suitability assessments of certain children in department's custody; specifies qualifications for evaluators conducting suitability assessments for placement in therapeutic group home; revises requirements for suitability assessments; specifies when DCF must provide copy of assessment to guardian ad litem & court; removes department's & agency's rulemaking authority; revises definition of term \"special needs child\"."
jurisdiction: "us/states/fl"
legislature: "Florida Legislature"
session: "2022"
identifier: "HB 893"
citation: "Florida HB 893 (2022)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["civil practice and procedure", "judicial branch", "public lands and property", "social welfare"]
status: "enacted"
chapter_law: "2022-55"
primary_sponsors: ["Melo", "Williams"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 43
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2021-12-09"
last_action: "2022-04-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/3302dde9-4728-49a8-9406-8644da3b9b9a"
source_url: "https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/893/ByCategory"
source_hash: "6ee88c80465ec0bb7227e8039b271498de9ead57ec2c1db0fc4b3a903a131ea4"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-fl"]
---

# Florida HB 893 (2022) — Child Welfare Placements

Child Welfare Placements; Authorizes DCF to place children in its custody in therapeutic group homes for residential mental health treatment without prior court approval; defines "therapeutic group home"; provides that DCF, rather than AHCA, shall appoint qualified evaluators to conduct suitability assessments of certain children in department's custody; specifies qualifications for evaluators conducting suitability assessments for placement in therapeutic group home; revises requirements for suitability assessments; specifies when DCF must provide copy of assessment to guardian ad litem & court; removes department's & agency's rulemaking authority; revises definition of term "special needs child".

**Enacted** — Laws of Florida, Chapter 2022-55.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **H 893 Filed** (filed) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/893/BillText/Filed/PDF)
2. **H 893 c1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/893/BillText/c1/PDF)
3. **H 893 c2** (committee substitute) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/893/BillText/c2/PDF)
4. **H 893 er** (enrolled) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/893/BillText/er/PDF)

## Votes

- Third Reading — **38–0** (pass) · upper
- Favorable With Committee Substitute (Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee) — **15–0** (pass) · lower
- Favorable With Amendment(s) (Health & Human Services Committee) — **19–0** (pass) · lower
- Passage, Third Reading — **116–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Children, Families and Seniors Subcommittee — primary (organization)
- Health and Human Services Committee — primary (organization)
- Melo — primary (person)
- Williams — primary (person)
- Arrington — cosponsor (person)
- Bartleman — cosponsor (person)
- Benjamin — cosponsor (person)
- Daley — cosponsor (person)
- Davis — cosponsor (person)
- Hunschofsky — cosponsor (person)
- Joseph — cosponsor (person)
- McCurdy — cosponsor (person)
- Mooney — cosponsor (person)
- Morales — cosponsor (person)
- Nixon — cosponsor (person)
- Rayner — cosponsor (person)
- Robinson, F. — cosponsor (person)
- Silvers — cosponsor (person)
- Skidmore — cosponsor (person)
- Tant — cosponsor (person)
- Thompson — cosponsor (person)
- Woodson — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-12-09** Filed `filing`
- **2022-01-03** Referred to Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2022-01-03** Referred to Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2022-01-03** Referred to Health & Human Services Committee `referral-committee`
- **2022-01-03** Now in Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee
- **2022-01-11** 1st Reading (Original Filed Version)
- **2022-01-21** Added to Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee agenda
- **2022-01-25** Favorable with CS by Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee
- **2022-01-26** Reported out of Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee
- **2022-01-26** Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a)
- **2022-01-26** CS Filed
- **2022-01-27** 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1)
- **2022-01-28** Original reference removed: Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee
- **2022-01-28** Referred to Health & Human Services Committee `referral-committee`
- **2022-01-28** Now in Health & Human Services Committee
- **2022-02-21** PCS added to Health & Human Services Committee agenda
- **2022-02-23** Favorable with CS by Health & Human Services Committee
- **2022-02-23** Reported out of Health & Human Services Committee
- **2022-02-23** Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a)
- **2022-02-23** CS Filed
- **2022-02-23** 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 2)
- **2022-02-24** Bill referred to House Calendar
- **2022-02-24** Added to Second Reading Calendar
- **2022-02-24** Bill added to Special Order Calendar (3/1/2022)
- **2022-03-01** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2022-03-01** Placed on 3rd reading
- **2022-03-01** Added to Third Reading Calendar
- **2022-03-02** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2022-03-02** CS passed; YEAS 116, NAYS 0 `passage`
- **2022-03-02** In Messages
- **2022-03-02** Referred to Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2022-03-02** Withdrawn from Appropriations `withdrawal`
- **2022-03-02** Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading
- **2022-03-02** Substituted for CS/CS/SB 1120
- **2022-03-02** Received
- **2022-03-02** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2022-03-02** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2022-03-02** CS passed; YEAS 38 NAYS 0 `passage`
- **2022-03-02** In Messages
- **2022-03-02** Ordered enrolled
- **2022-04-05** Signed by Officers and presented to Governor
- **2022-04-06** Approved by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2022-04-08** Chapter No. 2022-55

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/3302dde9-4728-49a8-9406-8644da3b9b9a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Florida legislature records).