My Child is in Foster Care

At Tate Healey Webster, we believe that every birth parent deserves a voice in their child’s future—even when the child is in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF).

If your parental rights have not yet been terminated and your child is in foster care, you have the legal right to intervene and propose a private adoption plan that aligns with your wishes. This legal tool is called an Intervention—and it can give you more control, peace of mind, and choice in what comes next for your child. It is important for you to act fast, as quickly as you can after your child is sheltered by the Department or within 30 days of the Department filing a petition to terminate your parental rights.

An intervention is a legal process where a birth parent signs a private consent to adoption, choosing a family and pathway for permanency outside of the state system. Our law firm will represent the adoption entity or the family you choose to intervene in your an active dependency (foster care) case and attempt to change placement to the family you chose. Instead of allowing the court to terminate your rights and leave decisions up to the state, you take proactive steps to make a plan for your child—one that reflects your values, preferences, and hopes.

• You Choose the Family
  You can select relatives, close friends, the child’s foster parents, or review profiles of loving, approved adoptive families. The family must complete a licensed home study, ensuring your child’s safety and care
• You May Preserve Contact
  Many adoption plans include open or semi-open agreements, so you can maintain a connection or receive updates, if that’s what you want.
• You Avoid a Lengthy Court Battle
  Intervention is faster and less traumatic than a contested termination of parental rights case. It gives you a dignified path forward.
• You Get a Say
  Once TPR happens, the state—not you—controls what happens to your child. Intervention means you still have a choice.
• It’s Confidential and Compassionate

1. You or the adoptive parents you chose contact our office confidentially.
2. We explainoptions and help determine if intervention is a viable option.
3. If you do not have a family chosen yet, you select a family (we can help, if needed).
4. You sign legal consent forms and we file a motion on behalf of the adoption entity with the court.
5. Our attorneys appear in court to advocate for your plan.

Interventions are one of the most specialized and emotionally sensitive areas of adoption law. Our firm handles contested intervention trials almost every week, and our firm has decades of experience helping navigate DCF cases with dignity and strength.

We are board-certified in adoption law and offer this option across the State of Florida.
You Deserve Support. You Deserve Options.

If your child is in DCF custody and you want to explore a private adoption plan, we are here to help—without pressure and with full respect for your rights.

Call us at (813) 258-3355 or Email: [email protected]