Bill > S04994

This bill establishes a temporary moratorium on the use of forensic child custody evaluators in family court proceedings across New York state. Specifically, the bill prohibits courts from ordering or admitting forensic custody reports as evidence in custody or visitation cases. A forensic custody report is defined as any assessment or evaluation prepared by a licensed psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker that provides recommendations, opinions, or conclusions about child custody or visitation. The moratorium will remain in place until all eleven recommendations from a Blue-Ribbon commission on forensic custody evaluations have been fully implemented. The bill amends multiple sections of the domestic relations law and family court act to ensure this moratorium is applied consistently across different types of family court proceedings. By preventing the use of these evaluations, the bill appears to be responding to concerns about the reliability or potential bias of forensic child custody evaluations in determining child custody and visitation arrangements.

Education

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S4994