Part offoster care →

HB 287FLORIDA · STATEWIDESession 2026Died in Rules

Proposed Privacy Protections for Foster Families

Original title: Pub. Rec./Applicants, Owners, and Operators of Family Foster Homes and References of Such Persons

October 30, 2025

foster care public records privacy child welfare government transparency

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Where This Stands

Currently Died in Rules. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Introduced.

Procedural history

32 actions

Feb 26, 2026SenateEnrolled
Received
Feb 26, 2026SenateCommittee
Referred to Rules
Feb 25, 2026Senate
In Messages
Feb 25, 2026HouseFloor
CS passed; YEAS 116, NAYS 0
Feb 25, 2026HouseFloor
Read 3rd time
Feb 25, 2026House
Added to Third Reading Calendar

Show 26 earlier actions

Feb 25, 2026HouseFloor
Read 2nd time
Feb 19, 2026House
Bill added to Special Order Calendar (2/25/2026)
Feb 10, 2026House
Added to Second Reading Calendar
Feb 10, 2026House
Bill released to House Calendar
Feb 10, 2026House
Reported out of Health & Human Services Committee
Feb 10, 2026HouseCommittee
Favorable by Health & Human Services Committee
Feb 6, 2026House
Added to Health & Human Services Committee agenda
Jan 29, 2026House
Now in Health & Human Services Committee
Jan 29, 2026House
Reported out of Government Operations Subcommittee
Jan 29, 2026HouseCommittee
Favorable by Government Operations Subcommittee
Jan 27, 2026House
Added to Government Operations Subcommittee agenda
Jan 22, 2026House
Now in Government Operations Subcommittee
Jan 22, 2026HouseCommittee
Referred to Health & Human Services Committee
Jan 22, 2026HouseCommittee
Referred to Government Operations Subcommittee
Jan 21, 2026HouseIntroduced
1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1)
Jan 21, 2026HouseIntroduced
CS Filed
Jan 21, 2026House
Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a)
Jan 21, 2026House
Reported out of Human Services Subcommittee
Jan 20, 2026HouseCommittee
Favorable with CS by Human Services Subcommittee
Jan 15, 2026House
PCS added to Human Services Subcommittee agenda
Jan 13, 2026HouseIntroduced
1st Reading (Original Filed Version)
Nov 4, 2025House
Now in Human Services Subcommittee
Nov 4, 2025HouseCommittee
Referred to Health & Human Services Committee
Nov 4, 2025HouseCommittee
Referred to Government Operations Subcommittee
Nov 4, 2025HouseCommittee
Referred to Human Services Subcommittee
Oct 30, 2025HouseIntroduced
Filed

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

The Frame

What this does

The bill sought to balance government transparency with the physical safety of foster families, who may face risks from biological parents or others seeking to locate children in state care.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Foster home applicants and operators

Their personal identifying information would have been shielded from public disclosure.

Biological parents of children in foster care

They would have been restricted from accessing the location and contact information of the foster homes where their children were placed.

Department of Children and Families

The agency would have been required to redact and protect specific categories of records from public requests.

What changed

Last recorded activity October 30, 2025.

What's next

Introduced.

Summary

This bill would have made the personal information of foster home applicants, owners, and their families and exempt from public records requests. It aimed to protect these individuals from potential threats or harassment by keeping their home addresses, medical records, and other identifying details private.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What information would have been kept private under this bill?

Home, business, and school addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, medical records, home floor plans, and photographs of foster parents and their household members.

Would this information have remained private forever?

No. If a license was denied or expired, the information would generally have become public after 5 years, though medical records would have remained permanently exempt.

Did this bill pass?

No, the bill passed the House but died in the Rules committee on March 13, 2026.

Why It Matters

The bill sought to balance government transparency with the physical safety of foster families, who may face risks from biological parents or others seeking to locate children in state care.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Voting Record

Motion succeededhouse2/25/2026Official roll call ↗

Passage, Third Reading

Total

203

Yes

201

Present

Not Voting

Abstain

How they voted (203)

+ 179 more

Full roll-call analysis →

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Legislative focus on foster safety

The bill explicitly links the need for privacy to the potential for revenge or harassment by biological parents, highlighting the high-conflict nature of child removal cases.

Department of Children and Families

Connected Entities

organizationRules“received the bill”Map →

organizationHouse Calendar“received the bill”Map →

organizationHuman Services Subcommittee“reviewed the bill”Map →

organizationHealth & Human Services Committee“reviewed the bill”Map →

date2026-02-25“bill passed the House”Map →

organizationGovernment Operations Subcommittee“reviewed the bill”Map →

dollar_amount7.18“laid on table under this rule”Map →

date2025-10-30“bill was filed”Map →

dollar_amount116“bill passed with this many votes”Map →

Sources

Open source document

openstates.org

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance65
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy40
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level

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