Bill Text: NY S08952 | 2021-2022 | 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: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-02 - REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES [S08952 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S08952-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8952

                    IN SENATE

                                       May 2, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- 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-3) to read as follows:
    21    (a-3)  (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
    24  into evidence a forensic custody report in the context of a  custody  or
    25  visitation proceeding.
    26    (2) For the purposes of this subdivision:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14754-04-2
        S. 8952                             2

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