Fla. R. Juv. P. 8.535

(a) Initial Hearing. If the court terminates parental rights, a

postdisposition hearing must be set within 30 days after the date of

disposition. At the hearing, the department or licensed child-placing

agency must provide to the court a plan for permanency for the

child.

(b) Subsequent Hearings. Following the initial

postdisposition hearing, the court must hold hearings every 6

months to review progress being made toward permanency for the

child until the child is adopted or reaches the age of 18, whichever

occurs first. Review hearings for alternative forms of permanent

placement must be held as provided by law.

(c) Continuing Jurisdiction. The court that terminates the

parental rights to a child under chapter 39, Florida Statutes, must

retain exclusive jurisdiction in all matters pertaining to the child’s

adoption under chapter 63, Florida Statutes. The petition for

adoption must be filed in the division of the circuit court that

entered the judgment terminating parental rights, unless a motion

for change of venue is granted as provided by law.

(d) Review of the Department’s Denial of an Application

to Adopt a Child.

(1) Notice of Denial of Application to Adopt. If the

department denies an application to adopt a child, the department

must file written notification of the denial with the court and

provide copies to all parties and the denied applicant within 10

business days after the department’s decision.

(2) Motion to Review Denial of Application to Adopt. A

denied applicant may file a motion to have the court review the

department’s denial within 30 business days after the issuance of

the department’s written notification of its decision to deny the

application to adopt a child. The motion to review must allege that

the department unreasonably denied the application to adopt and

request that the court allow the denied applicant to file a petition to

adopt the child under chapter 63 without the department’s consent.

(3) Standing. A denied applicant only has standing to

file a motion to review the department’s denial and to present

evidence in support of such motion. Such standing is terminated

upon the entry of the court’s order. If the department selected a

different applicant to adopt the child, the selected applicant may

participate in the hearing as a participant pursuant to law and may

be granted leave by the court to be heard without the need to file a

motion to intervene.

(4) Hearing on Motion. The court must hold a hearing

within 30 business days after the denied applicant files the motion

to review. The court may only consider whether the department’s

denial of the application is consistent with its policies and if the

department made such decision in an expeditious manner. The

standard of review is whether the department’s denial of the

application is an abuse of discretion.

(5) Order. Within 15 business days after the conclusion

of the hearing, the court must enter a written order denying the

motion to review or finding that the department unreasonably

denied the application to adopt and authorizing the denied

applicant to file a petition to adopt the child under chapter 63

without the department’s consent.