The next time ANYONE (including your own attorney, family, friends, judges, or lawmakers) says that you are not justified in your URGENT ACTION to protect our country's children (or your own), remind them on Mar 9, 2022 (12:12 a.m.) U.S. "Congress finds the following:”
"A child’s risk of abuse increases after a perpetrator of intimate partner violence separates from a domestic partner, even when the perpetrator has not previously directly abused the child."
"More than 75 percent of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by a family member or a person known to the child."
"Judges presiding over custody cases involving allegations of child abuse, child sexual abuse, & #domesticviolence are rarely required to receive training on these subjects, and most States have not established standards for such training."
"Many experts who testify against abuse allegations lack expertise in the relevant type of alleged abuse, relying instead on unsound and unproven theories."
"Scientifically unsound theories that treat abuse allegations of mothers as likely false attempts to undermine fathers are frequently applied in family court to minimize or deny reports of abuse of parents and children."
"Approximately 1 ⁄3 of parents alleged to have committed child abuse took primary custody from the protective parent reporting the abuse, placing children at ongoing risk."
"With respect to cases in which an allegedly abusive parent claimed the mother ‘‘alienated’’ the child, courts believed only 1 in 51."
"Empirical research indicates that courts regularly discount allegations of child physical and sexual abuse when those allegations are raised in child custody cases."
"Child abuse is a major public health issue in the United States."
"Total lifetime financial costs with just 1 year of confirmed cases of child maltreatment, including child physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect, result in $124,000,000,000 in annual costs to the economy of the United States."
- The Keeping Children Safe From Family Violence Act aka Kayden's Law in Vawa (starting on page 2294) March 9, 2022
The Keeping Children Safe From Family Violence Act or "Kayden’s Law" in VAWA, incentivizes states to ensure that their child custody laws adequately protect at-risk children by:
1. Restricting expert testimony to only those who are appropriately qualified to provide it.
Evidence from court-appointed or outside professionals regarding alleged abuse may be admitted only when the professional possesses demonstrated expertise and experience in working with victims of domestic violence or child abuse, including child sexual abuse.
2. Limiting the use of reunification camps and therapies which cannot be proven to be safe and effective.
No “reunification treatment” may be ordered by the court without scientifically valid and generally accepted proof of the safety, effectiveness and therapeutic value of the particular treatment.
3. Providing evidence-based ongoing training to judges and court personnel on family violence subject matter, including:
(i) child sexual abuse;
(ii) physical abuse;
(iii) emotional abuse;
(iv) coercive control;
(v) implicit and explicit bias;
(vi) trauma;
(vii) long and short-term impacts of domestic violence and child abuse on children; and
(viii) victim and perpetrator behaviors.
4. Requiring that family courts consider the existence of protection from abuse orders when making custody determinations.
Become an advocate for The Keeping Children Safe From Family Violence Act or Kayden's Law in VAWA www.nationalsafeparents.org/take-action.html