Protective services in Florida cover two groups with separate laws behind them: children, and vulnerable adults — adults whose ability to protect themselves is limited by age, disability or infirmity.
The pages here explain what happens after a report is made, what domestic violence services exist, and how human trafficking is dealt with. This page is a plain-language guide. Cases, licences and eligibility decisions are handled by the State of Florida through its own official channels.
Florida operates a central hotline that takes reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation for both children and vulnerable adults, around the clock. Certain professions are required by law to report; everyone else may report.
A report does not need proof. It needs a reasonable suspicion and whatever facts the caller has — who, where, and what was seen or heard. Deciding whether something happened is the investigator's job, not the caller's.
An investigation starts with a face-to-face assessment of the safety of the person named in the report. It looks at the whole household, not only the allegation, because the question being answered is whether someone is safe now.
Most investigations end without anyone being removed from their home. Where risk is found, the usual result is a plan of services — supervision, treatment, help with housing — rather than a court case.
Records in protective cases are confidential by statute and are not public. Reporters can ask to stay anonymous, though giving a name lets the investigator come back with questions, which usually makes the report more useful.