Rilya Wilson Act DCF Absence Reporting Form: Filing, Delivery, and Records

To file under Florida’s Rilya Wilson Act, a child care provider completes the absence reporting form issued by the local Early Learning Coalition or community-based care lead agency and submits it to both the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the lead agency. The Rilya Wilson Act reporting form is a single page covering the child’s name, your facility’s contact information, and a record of your attempts to reach the parent. The reporting clock is tight, and the form must go out by the end of the business day following the triggering absence.¹

The law applies only to children from birth through the age of school entry who are under court-ordered protective supervision or in out-of-home care, enrolled in your program, and required to attend five days a week.² DCF tells you at enrollment which children are covered.

When You Have to File

Section 39.604 sets two separate triggers, and they work differently.

A single unexcused absence. If a covered child misses a scheduled day and the parent or caregiver has not contacted the program by the end of that business day, the absence is unexcused by default. You must report it to DCF or the lead agency by the end of the next business day.¹
Seven consecutive excused absences. Even when the parent calls in a valid reason each day, seven straight excused absences require a report by the end of the business day following the seventh absence.¹

The one-day trigger surprises many providers. There is no waiting period for a first unexcused absence. One missed day without a call starts the clock.

How an Absence Becomes Unexcused

The first obligation sits with the parent, foster parent, or other caregiver. When a covered child is absent, that person must contact the program by the end of the business day and give a reason.² If they don’t, the absence is unexcused automatically. No judgment call on your end.

That makes your role on day one largely passive. You wait for the call. If end of business comes and goes with no contact, the absence flips, and your reporting deadline begins.

What Goes on the Form

Florida does not publish a single statewide form. Each Early Learning Coalition or community-based care lead agency uses its own version, distributed with your provider contract and often posted on the coalition’s website.³ The fields are consistent across regions.⁴

Report type. Mark that this is a Rilya Wilson absence report, not a general 5-day or 10-day no-contact report for other subsidized children.
Date of report. The date you are filing.
Provider information. Facility name, physical address, contact person, and phone number.
Child information. The child’s full name, the parent or guardian’s name, their phone number, and the date the child last attended.
Contact attempts. Each attempt you made to reach the parent, including the date, whether you spoke to them, left a message, or could not leave one, and any notes from the conversation.
DCF notification. The date you called DCF to report the absence.

The form does not ask for the child’s Social Security number, date of birth, or your facility license number. DCF already has the child’s identifying details from the enrollment notification; the form just needs enough to match the child to that record.

Where to Send It

For a Rilya Wilson-covered child, you report to both DCF and your Early Learning Coalition, not one or the other.⁴ The submission channel depends on your region.

In most areas, you email the completed form to your assigned Family Services Specialist at the community-based care lead agency. Some coalitions run their own channels. Pinellas County operates a Rilya Wilson Act hotline that providers call to report absences directly.⁵ Miami-Dade/Monroe accepts reports only by email to Citrus Family Care Network, the local community-based care agency.⁶ Broward County uses an online absence reporting form on the coalition’s website.³

If you are unsure which method applies to you, check your provider contract or call your Early Learning Coalition. DCF maintains a directory of community-based care lead agencies at myflfamilies.com that identifies the right agency for your area.⁷ Whatever channel you use, keep the submitted form and any delivery confirmation.

What Happens After You File

After two consecutive unexcused absences, DCF or the lead agency must conduct a site visit at the child’s residence. The same requirement applies after seven consecutive excused absences.¹ The visit verifies the child’s whereabouts and safety.

If the child is located, the parent or caregiver is warned that failing to ensure attendance violates the safety plan or case plan. If staff have to make more than two site visits under this provision, they must notify the court of the parent or caregiver’s noncompliance.¹ If the child is determined to be missing, the agency follows the missing-child procedures in § 39.0141, which involve law enforcement notification and an immediate safety response.²

Your obligation is fulfilled when you submit the report through the correct channel. Expect follow-up questions from the caseworker about the child’s last day, behavior, or anything the parent said. Keep the attendance log and the submitted form within reach.

Records That Back Up the Report

Daily attendance logs are the backbone of compliance. The excused-versus-unexcused distinction hinges entirely on whether the parent contacted you before end of business, so your log for each covered child should capture whether the child attended, the time the parent or caregiver called, the reason given, and the staff member who took the call. Without that, you cannot defend how you classified an absence.

Attendance records serve a second purpose. A covered child cannot be withdrawn from your program without prior written approval from DCF or the referring agency, so repeated absences alone are not grounds for dropping the child from your roster.² The statute does not set specific fines for a provider who fails to report, but noncompliance puts your relationship with the Early Learning Coalition and lead agency at risk and can affect your eligibility to serve state-subsidized children.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 39.604 – Rilya Wilson Act
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 39.604 – Rilya Wilson Act
3
Early Learning Coalition of Broward County, Inc. Report a Child’s Absence
4
Early Learning Coalition of the Indian River, Martin and Okeechobee Counties. Absence and Rilya Wilson Reporting Form
5
Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas County. Confidential Log of Absences
6
Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe. At-Risk Child Unexcused Absences Must be Reported
7
Florida Department of Children and Families. Lead Agency Information