If you want to adopt a child and DCF tells you it will conduct an “AARC”, get a lawyer now. You either have something in your background that DCF disapproves of, or there is a competing adoptive applicant. The competing applicants may be caregivers or relatives of the child, or maybe just someone who knows the child. Competing applicants submit applications to the Adoption Applicant Review Committee, otherwise known as “AARC.”
The AARC process is completely informal. There are no safeguards to ensure transparency, consistency, or due process. In an AARC, you may not be entitled to any information–called “discovery” in the courts–that would help you prepare for the AARC meeting. (Note: other parts of the law do entitle caregivers to most information having to do with themselves or the children in their care, but we have seen DCF deliberately obstruct caregivers from receiving this information, especially before an AARC.)
You will be given notice of when the AARC meeting will be held. You might be given only 24 hours notice. You will not know:
The AARC keeps no formal record–whether through a zoom recording or a court reporter–that would allow a meaningful and accurate review of its decision. You will likely never know what was said or done at the AARC, and instead will receive a letter with the AARC’s final decision…eventually. The decision is supposed to be rendered within a couple weeks, but we have seen the process take over an entire year!
The implications of the AARC denying your adoption application are serious: your only option is to appeal to the trial judge. In 2024, the Florida legislature wrote a law that essentially makes DCF the judge.
It is highly advisable to retain an attorney before you even go to the AARC, to make sure that all the legal issues and evidence are preserved. We are highly experienced in AARCs and appeals of AARC decisions.
