Bill > A226

This bill, titled "Establishes 'Monica's Law' requiring evidence-based risk assessments in certain domestic violence cases," has several key provisions: 1. It requires the Administrative Office of the Courts to develop a parenting time questionnaire and an evidence-based guide to assist courts in determining custody and parenting time arrangements where there are allegations of violent or threatening behavior by a parent that could place the safety and well-being of a child at risk. 2. It mandates that in any custody or parenting time proceeding where a parent asserts safety concerns, the court must temporarily suspend or restrict parenting time and order the parent asserting the concerns to complete the parenting time questionnaire, unless the other parent shows the concerns are arbitrary and capricious. 3. It directs the Attorney General, in consultation with the Supreme Court Statewide Domestic Violence Working Group, to develop an evidence-based risk assessment instrument for law enforcement to evaluate the likelihood of a person charged with a crime or domestic violence offense committing future acts of violence against a victim. 4. It amends the existing domestic violence law to require the court to consider the parenting time provisions outlined in this new bill when determining parenting time arrangements. The overall goal of this bill is to establish more rigorous, evidence-based processes for assessing and addressing safety risks to children in domestic violence cases.

Justice

https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2022/A226