Bill > S05998

This bill, known as "Kyra's Law," mandates that courts prioritize a child's health and safety when making decisions about child custody and visitation, establishing child safety as a primary consideration. It requires judges to review specific information related to allegations of child abuse, domestic violence, and other acts that could pose a substantial risk to a child's safety before issuing temporary or final custody or visitation orders. This review includes examining court decisions from child abuse proceedings (under Article 10 of the Family Court Act), statewide orders of protection, and sex offender registry information. The bill also expands the types of evidence courts must consider, such as a party's history of domestic violence or child abuse, police reports, and specific child safety risk factors like threats of harm, sexual abuse, or coercive control, which is defined as a pattern of behavior that restricts a person's safety or autonomy. Furthermore, it requires judges to receive mandatory training on handling allegations of domestic violence and child abuse in custody cases and directs a study on the feasibility of using computers to access child abuse registries in courts. The bill also clarifies that reasonable protective actions taken by a parent to safeguard a child from abuse or domestic violence should not, on their own, be grounds for denying custody or visitation, and it prohibits courts from assuming a child's reluctance to interact with a parent is solely due to the other parent's influence.