Criminal defense
Child Neglect and Failure to Report Child Abuse in Miami
Child neglect charges often come from a single bad moment: a child who wandered off, a missed medical appointment, a home that police or DCF say was unsafe. Failure-to-report charges can reach people who never touched the child at all. Both are felonies in Florida.
Dennis Gonzalez Jr. is a former Miami-Dade prosecutor who has been defending people since 2012. Our office answers 24 hours a day.
What Counts as Neglect
Under § 827.03, neglect of a child means a caregiver's willful failure or omission to provide the care, supervision, and services needed for the child's physical and mental health (such as food, clothing, shelter, supervision, medicine, and medical care that a prudent person would consider essential), or a caregiver's failure to make a reasonable effort to protect the child from abuse, neglect, or exploitation by someone else. Neglect can rest on repeated conduct or on a single incident that results in, or could reasonably be expected to result in, serious physical or mental injury or a substantial risk of death.
A caregiver is a parent, an adult household member, or another person responsible for the child's welfare.
The 2025 change. Since July 1, 2025, neglect does not include letting a child engage in independent and unsupervised activities, such as walking or biking to school or nearby places, playing outdoors, or staying home or elsewhere for a reasonable time, unless allowing it was willful and wanton conduct that endangered the child's health or safety. The same law added the word "willful" to the first part of the definition.
The Neglect Charges
Neglect causing serious harm. Instruction 16.5: the State must prove that you, willfully or by culpable negligence, neglected the child; that this caused great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement; that you were the child's caregiver; and that the child was under 18. Second-degree felony (up to 15 years and $10,000).
Neglect without serious harm. Instruction 16.6: the same proof without the serious-harm element. Third-degree felony (up to 5 years and $5,000).
Culpable negligence is more than ordinary carelessness: the instructions describe gross and flagrant conduct showing reckless disregard of human life or the safety of others. See Culpable Negligence, a possible lesser offense.
Failure to Report Child Abuse (§ 39.205(1))
Florida requires any person who knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect, child abuse, abandonment, or neglect to report it immediately to the DCF central abuse hotline.
Under instruction 16.13, the State must prove that you knew or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect occurred, and that you knowingly and willfully failed to report it to the hotline, or prevented someone else from reporting it. Third-degree felony.
The statute also makes it a third-degree felony for an adult living in the same home as a child known or suspected to be abused or neglected to knowingly and willfully fail to report, unless the court finds the person is a domestic violence victim or other mitigating circumstances exist. Knowingly making a false report is also a third-degree felony.
How We Defend These Cases
- Willfulness and culpable negligence. An accident or a lapse in judgment is not the same as a crime.
- The 2025 exclusion for reasonable independent activities.
- Caregiver status. Was the accused actually responsible for the child at the time?
- For failure to report: what the person actually knew, and whether it amounted to a reasonable suspicion.
What to Do First
- Do not give statements to police or DCF without a lawyer.
- Follow any safety plan or court condition while the case is pending.
- Gather records: school, medical, daycare, and messages that show the full picture.
- Call us. See Turning Yourself In.
Why Choose Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.
- Former Miami-Dade prosecutor.
- Defending people since 2012.
- Super Lawyers recognition and an Avvo Rating of 10.0.
- Bilingual office — se habla español.
- We answer 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.
See our Results page, Child Abuse, Leaving a Child in a Car, and Violent Crimes Defense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I be charged for letting my child walk to school alone?
Since July 1, 2025, Florida's neglect definition excludes reasonable independent activities like walking to school, unless allowing it was willful and wanton conduct that endangered the child.