(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 shall provide to the court a plan for permanency for the child.
(b) Subsequent Hearings. Following the initial postdisposition hearing, the court shall 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 shall be held as provided by law.
(c) Continuing Jurisdiction. The court that terminates the parental rights to a child under chapter 39, Florida Statutes, shall 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) Withholding Consent to Adopt.
(1) When a petition for adoption and a favorable home study under section 39.812(5), Florida Statutes, have been filed and the department’s consent has not been filed, the court shall conduct a hearing to determine if the department has unreasonably withheld consent.
(2) In reviewing whether the department unreasonably withheld its consent to adopt, the court shall determine whether the department abused its discretion by withholding consent to the adoption by the petitioner. In making this determination, the court shall consider all relevant information, including information obtained or otherwise used by the department in selecting the adoptive family, pursuant to Florida Administrative Code Chapter 65C.
(3) If the court determines that the department unreasonably withheld consent to adopt, and the petitioner has filed with the court a favorable home study as required by law, the court shall incorporate its findings into a written order with specific findings of fact as to how the department abused its discretion in withholding its consent to adopt, and the consent of the department shall be waived.