Bill Text: NY S08578 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Prohibits forensic child custody evaluators who have been terminated for cause from appearing as an expert witness in family court custody and visitation proceedings.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-05-23 - referred to judiciary [S08578 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S08578-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8578--B IN SENATE March 16, 2022 ___________ Introduced by Sens. HARCKHAM, KRUEGER, PALUMBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law and the family court act, in relation to prohibiting certain forensic child custody evaluators from appearing as an expert witness in family court 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) No court shall permit a forensic child custody evaluator to 4 appear as an expert witness nor shall such court order or allow into 5 evidence a forensic custody report prepared by such forensic child 6 custody evaluator, in the context of a custody or visitation proceeding, 7 when such forensic child custody evaluator has been removed from the 8 panel of forensic custody evaluators by the mental health professionals 9 certification committee or other supervisory body, has offered to step 10 down from the panel, or has negotiated a settlement with the committee 11 or other supervisory body and such forensic child custody evaluator will 12 no longer be on the panel of forensic custody evaluators. 13 (2) For the purposes of this subdivision: 14 (i) "forensic child custody evaluator" shall mean a licensed psychia- 15 trist, psychologist or social worker authorized by statute or the court 16 to perform a forensic evaluation relating to a party or a child in order 17 to assist the court in a child custody or visitation determination. 18 (ii) "forensic custody report" shall mean any report, assessment or 19 evaluation prepared by a forensic child custody evaluator and used by 20 the court in a child custody or visitation determination. 21 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 240 of the domestic relations law is 22 amended by adding a new paragraph (a-3) to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14752-08-2S. 8578--B 2 1 (a-3) (1) No court shall permit a forensic child custody evaluator to 2 appear as an expert witness nor shall such court order or allow into 3 evidence a forensic custody report prepared by such forensic child 4 custody evaluator, in the context of a custody or visitation proceeding, 5 when such forensic child custody evaluator has been removed from the 6 panel of forensic custody evaluators by the mental health professionals 7 certification committee or other supervisory body, has offered to step 8 down from the panel, or has negotiated a settlement with the committee 9 or other supervisory body and such forensic child custody evaluator will 10 no longer be on the panel of forensic custody evaluators. 11 (2) For the purposes of this paragraph: 12 (i) "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 (ii) "forensic custody report" shall mean any report, assessment or 17 evaluation prepared by a forensic child custody evaluator and used by 18 the court in a child custody or visitation determination. 19 § 3. Section 651 of the family court act is amended by adding a new 20 subdivision (g) to read as follows: 21 (g) 1. No court shall permit a forensic child custody evaluator to 22 appear as an expert witness nor shall such court order or allow into 23 evidence a forensic custody report prepared by such forensic child 24 custody evaluator, in the context of a custody or visitation proceeding, 25 when such child custody evaluator has been removed from the panel of 26 forensic custody evaluators by the mental health professionals certif- 27 ication committee or other supervisory body, has offered to step down 28 from the panel, or has negotiated a settlement with the committee or 29 other supervisory body and such forensic child custody evaluator will no 30 longer be on the panel of forensic custody evaluators. 31 2. For the purposes of this subdivision: 32 (i) "forensic child custody evaluator" shall mean a licensed psychia- 33 trist, psychologist or social worker authorized by statute or the court 34 to perform a forensic evaluation relating to a party or a child in order 35 to assist the court in a child custody or visitation determination. 36 (ii) "forensic custody report" shall mean any report, assessment or 37 evaluation prepared by a forensic child custody evaluator and used by 38 the court in a child custody or visitation determination. 39 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 40 have become a law, provided, however, that effective immediately the 41 chief administrator of the courts, with the approval of the administra- 42 tive board of the courts, is authorized to promulgate any rules neces- 43 sary to implement the provisions of this act on or before such effective 44 date.
