SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Nearly 200 new laws are now in effect in Florida as of July 1, and one of them is aimed at keeping parents, guardians and children safe during custody exchanges.
The “Safe Exchange of Minor Children” law provides requirements for parents who are court ordered to exchange their children at neutral safe exchange locations. It also requires sheriffs to designate areas as neutral locations.
It’s often referred to as the “Cassie Carli law,’ and was named for the mother who detectives believe was murdered by her child’s father in the midst of a custody swap. Carli was last seen in 2022 in a parking lot where she was supposed to be picking up her daughter from her ex-boyfriend. Her body was later found in Alabama.
Each sheriff is required by law to designate at least one parking lot or a substation as a neutral safe exchange location. It must have a purple light or a sign in the parking lot that clearly identifies the safe zone.
The law also requires the area to be accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and under continuous video surveillance. The department must keep that video recording or images for at least 45 days.
“Although the bill did take effect July 1, we have always encouraged people who needed a safe place to exchange children to do it in front of one of our buildings,” said Kim Cannaday with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
The designated “safe exchange zones” are not staffed but are considered a secure environment because of the video surveillance and proximity to law enforcement.
“We do suggest that if anything occurs, some sort of emergency occurs during the exchange of a child, call 911 immediately,” Cannady said.
Law enforcement hopes these new spaces will give parents and guardians peace of mind.
“This is important to us because we’re here to support families and we want to make sure we have a safe and secure location for these most important moments,” Cannaday said.
Below is a list of locations where you can find these safe exchange zones across Central Florida:
Marion County
North Multi-District
8311 North Highway 44, Ocala
South Multi-District
3260 SE 80th St, Ocala
Orange County
Orange County Sheriff’s Office headquarters
2500 W. Colonial Drive (near the north entrance), Orlando, 32804
Seminole County
𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲
100 Eslinger Way, Sanford, FL 32773
𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 (𝗢𝘃𝗶𝗲𝗱𝗼 / 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗮 / 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 / 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀)
1225 East Broadway, Oviedo, FL 32765
𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 (𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀)
120 West Pineview St. Altamonte Springs, FL 32714
𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 (𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱 / 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆 / 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱)
805 Primera Blvd., Lake Mary, FL 32746
Sumter County
𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲(𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴)
250 E. McCollum Ave., Bushnell, FL 33513
𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲
7361 Powell Road, Wildwood, FL 34785
Volusia County
The Volusia Family Resource Center
3747 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach
District 3-North
1435 U.S. 1, Ormond Beach
District 3-South
124 N. Riverside Drive, New Smyrna Beach
District 4
1691 Providence Blvd., Deltona
District 6
79 S. Charles R. Beall Blvd., DeBary
News 6 is gathering the locations for all of the safe exchange locations in Central Florida. This story will be updated when we have the full list.