Bill Text: NY S05385 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes a moratorium on the use of forensic child custody evaluators in family court proceedings by the office of court administration.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES [S05385 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S05385-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5385

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      March 3, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. HARCKHAM, CLEARE, COMRIE, COONEY, KRUEGER, PALUMBO,
          RAMOS -- read twice and  ordered  printed,  and  when  printed  to  be
          committed to the Committee on Children and Families

        AN  ACT to amend the domestic relations law and the family court act, in
          relation to establishing a moratorium on the  use  of  forensic  child
          custody evaluators in family court proceedings

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 70 of the domestic  relations  law  is  amended  by
     2  adding a new subdivision (c) to read as follows:
     3    (c) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, there is
     4  hereby  established  a  moratorium  on the use of forensic child custody
     5  evaluators in family court proceedings. No court shall  order  or  allow
     6  into  evidence  a forensic custody report in the context of a custody or
     7  visitation proceeding.
     8    (2) For the purposes of this subdivision:
     9    (i) "forensic custody report" shall mean  any  report,  assessment  or
    10  evaluation  prepared  by  a forensic child custody evaluator and used by
    11  the court in a child custody or visitation determination; and
    12    (ii) "forensic child custody evaluator" shall mean a licensed psychia-
    13  trist, psychologist or social worker authorized by statute or the  court
    14  to perform a forensic evaluation relating to a party or a child in order
    15  to assist the court in a child custody or visitation determination.
    16    (3)  Forensic  child  custody evaluators shall not be reinstated until
    17  all eleven recommendations of the  Blue-Ribbon  commission  on  forensic
    18  custody evaluations have been implemented.
    19    §  2.    Subdivision 1 of section 240 of the domestic relations law is
    20  amended by adding a new paragraph (a-4) to read as follows:
    21    (a-4) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,  there
    22  is  hereby established a moratorium on the use of forensic child custody
    23  evaluators in family court proceedings. No court shall  order  or  allow

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09980-01-3
        S. 5385                             2

     1  into  evidence  a forensic custody report in the context of a custody or
     2  visitation proceeding.
     3    (2) For the purposes of this subdivision:
     4    (i)  "forensic  custody  report"  shall mean any report, assessment or
     5  evaluation prepared by a forensic child custody evaluator  and  used  by
     6  the court in a child custody or visitation determination; and
     7    (ii) "forensic evaluator" shall mean a licensed psychiatrist, psychol-
     8  ogist  or  social worker authorized by statute or the court to perform a
     9  forensic evaluation relating to a party or a child in  order  to  assist
    10  the court in a child custody or visitation determination.
    11    (3)  Forensic  child  custody evaluators shall not be reinstated until
    12  all eleven recommendations of the  Blue-Ribbon  commission  on  forensic
    13  custody evaluations have been implemented.
    14    §  3.  Section  651 of the family court act is amended by adding a new
    15  subdivision (g) to read as follows:
    16    (g) 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, there  is
    17  hereby  established  a  moratorium  on the use of forensic child custody
    18  evaluators in family court proceedings. No court shall  order  or  allow
    19  into  evidence  a forensic custody report in the context of a custody or
    20  visitation proceeding.
    21    2. For the purposes of this subdivision:
    22    (i) "forensic custody report" shall  mean  any  report  or  evaluation
    23  prepared by a forensic child custody evaluator which includes such eval-
    24  uator's  recommendations, opinions or conclusions as to child custody or
    25  visitation; and
    26    (ii) "forensic child custody evaluator" shall mean a licensed psychia-
    27  trist, psychologist or social worker authorized by statute or the  court
    28  to perform a forensic evaluation relating to a party or a child in order
    29  to assist the court in a child custody or visitation determination.
    30    3. Forensic child custody evaluators shall not be reinstated until all
    31  eleven recommendations of the Blue-Ribbon commission on forensic custody
    32  evaluations have been implemented.
    33    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.