M.S., FATHER OF R.S., C.S. AND J.S., CHILDREN, APPELLANT,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, APPELLEE
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The court held that the trial court's dependency adjudication was not supported by competent, substantial evidence.
The Department of Children and Families petitioned to adjudicate children dependent based on the father's recent drug-related arrests. The trial court…
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The father, M.S., appeals an order adjudicating his teenage sons dependent. He contends that the trial court’s order was not supported by competent, substantial evidence. We agree.
After observing that the evidence presented by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) was “less than overwhelming,” the trial court nevertheless adjudicated the children dependent based on the father’s recent arrests on drug-related charges.1 Evidence that a parent has used illegal drugs, standing alone, is insufficient to support a finding of dependency. See, e.g., S.S. v. Dep’t of Child. & Fams., 81 So.3d 618, 621-22 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012). Here, DCF failed to present any evidence as to the circumstances surrounding the father’s arrests or any evidence that the father’s alleged drug-related actions harmed the children.2
REVERSED and REMANDED for entry of an order denying DCF’s petition for dependency.
SAWAYA, TORPY and EVANDER, JJ., concur.