Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis signed a law on Wednesday that aims to improve the safety of children and parents during custody changes.
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HB 385, entitled “Safe Exchange of Minor Children,” requires parents who share custody of their children to create a court-approved parenting plan that sets out how they will divide the daily responsibilities of raising the child.
The plan must also include arrangements for how each parent will divide their time and who will be responsible for matters such as the child's health care, education, and other activities.
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In situations where a court finds that there is “a danger or imminent threat” to the parents or child, it may require the parents or child to surrender the child to a “neutral, safe” location.
The new law also requires Florida sheriffs to provide at least one parking space at the sheriff's office or an auxiliary office as a neutral and safe place for exchanges.
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Secure parking areas must be equipped with a purple light or sign clearly identifying them as such. They must also be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, be adequately lit, have an external video surveillance system that records continuously, and have at least one camera capable of recording the area around the purple light or sign.
Also known as the “Cassie-Carli” bill, HB 385 was named after a Florida mother who disappeared in 2022 after meeting her child's father for a timeshare swap and was later found buried in a shallow grave in Alabama.
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Marcus Spanevelo, 35, was later charged with kidnapping, which led to Carli's death.
HB 385 was passed nearly unanimously by the Florida Senate and House of Representatives and signed by Governor DeSantis on Wednesday.
The new law comes into force on July 1.
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