This is the second straight Session lawmakers have considered the legislation, which was dubbed \u201cPatterson\u2019s Law<\/a>\u201d last year after a couple who lost custody of their twin sons to the Department of Children and Families (DCF).<\/p>\n And it addresses a real and disturbing fact about Florida\u2019s child protective efforts: Sometimes the state gets it wrong and misattributes injuries to abuse, and under the current system, parents have little recourse.<\/p>\n Shalimar Republican Rep. Patt Maney, a former judge and one of the bill\u2019s prime sponsors, cited his experience terminating parental rights from the bench in stressing how complex the issue is.<\/p>\n \u201cThose are not only legally challenging cases, but they\u2019re tremendously emotionally challenging. And if they\u2019re challenging for the judge, imagine how challenging they are for the families who have their children in a posture of being taken away from them \u2014 visitation limited,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd once the wheel gets in spin, once the bureaucracy gets moving, it\u2019s very difficult to slow it down.\u201d<\/p>\n HB 47, if passed, would allow DCF to temporarily delay referring allegations to law enforcement while investigating claims of specified preexisting diagnoses, but requires referral once the investigation ends if criminal conduct is still alleged.<\/p>\n The measure also requires child protection teams to consult pediatric-experienced medical professionals in such cases. And importantly, it gives parents the right to request timely second opinions or alternative medical examinations at their own expense, with a mandatory case staffing if doctors disagree.<\/p>\n \u201cThis bill does not weaken protections for abused children. It strengthens our system by making sure we get it right,\u201d said Weston Democratic Rep. Robin Bartleman, the bill\u2019s other prime sponsor. \u201cA child wrongfully removed from a loving home suffers real harm, and when resources are spent on unnecessary investigations, real cases of abuse may go unnoticed.\u201d<\/p>\n Members of the panel heard several public testimonies supporting that assertion.<\/p>\n Christie Lee, who worked in foster care in Hillsborough County, said in her nearly two decades on the job, the cases HB 47 concerns represent \u201cthe most egregious abuses of power\u201d she\u2019d seen.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now in Florida, a single medical opinion can set off a chain of events that permanently shatters an innocent family,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can\u2019t continue to accept a process where parents are presumed guilty, families are torn apart, and no meaningful check on power exists. A second medical opinion is not an obstacle to a child\u2019s safety. It\u2019s the bare minimum of fairness.\u201d<\/p>\n Kim Young, a foster parent for almost 10 years who said she\u2019s cared for more than 100 children, said that some of the kids in her care were clearly abused. But she called cases of misdiagnoses \u201cnot rare at all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve just been mussing it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve not been believing parents, and we\u2019ve not been giving them the opportunity for a second opinion. They don\u2019t have a fighting chance.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah Mischler shared how her oldest child was removed from her custody at just 7 months old based on a misdiagnosis from a Jacksonville doctor working 170 miles from where she lives, who never physically examined the boy. She said she and her partner were accused of shaken baby syndrome based on an old bleed caused by a vacuum-assisted birth, and they fought for 11 months to keep their son, spending more than $100,000 in the process.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat ultimately saved our family was the ability to obtain a second medical opinion,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd with that opinion, DCF completely dropped its (termination of parental rights case) against us, and our son was returned home.\u201d<\/p>\n The measure\u2019s namesake, Michael and Tasha Patterson, lost their twin sons after DCF took custody<\/a> of them in 2022, after broken bones the boys suffered raised alarms during an emergency room visit.<\/p>\n The couple took the matter to court, citing medical evidence showing that, like their mother, the boys \u2014 who have still not been returned \u2014 have a rare genetic disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome<\/a>\u00a0that causes fragile bones and easy bruising.<\/p>\n Broward County Democratic Sen. Barbara Sharief, a doctor of nursing practice who is carrying the bill\u2019s upper-chamber companion (SB 42<\/a>) said various preexisting genetic conditions like Ehlers-Danlos, rickets, osteogenesis imperfecta and vitamin D deficiency can lead to signs of bodily harm that aren\u2019t due to physical abuse, but the state\u2019s process for determining whether that\u2019s the case is faulty, and it\u2019s hurting families.<\/p>\n Lawyer Valentina Villalobos said she has tried numerous cases in which DCF made false allegations of abuse against parents, many involving infants who can\u2019t speak for themselves. DCF and court guardians have given her \u201ca lot of pushback,\u201d she said, when she sought additional time to seek expert medical review before the cases are \u201chastily tried.\u201d<\/p>\n And while child protection teams currently do a basic bone fragility test, she said, it \u201cdoes not come anywhere close to the full scope of the possible genetic conditions that can be tested for and can explain the so-called unexplainable injury.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Floridian-Partners-Ad-1_728x90.jpg\")
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