ASSEMBLY COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 1186

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MARCH 3, 1997

      The Assembly Community Services Committee favorably reports Assembly Bill No. 1186.

      This bill establishes standards to be used by the court when dealing with the questions of child custody and visitation for families with a history of family violence. For the purposes of this bill, family violence is defined as the occurence of one or more acts defined under the State's domestic violence law, P.L.1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-19 et seq.) or the occurence of one or more acts of child abuse as defined by subsections a., b. or c. of section 2 of the State's child abuse statute, P.L.1971, c.437 (C.9:6-8.9). Under the provisions of the bill, the court would not award joint or sole custody to an abusive parent, unless it can be shown by clear and convincing evidence that:

      1. the parent has been evaluated by a treatment program for danger to the child or abused parent;

      2. the parent is not abusing alcohol or any other drugs; and

      3. the best interest of the child requires that the abusive parent participate as a custodial parent.

      If both parents have been accused of committing acts of family violence, custody may be awarded to the parent who is less likely to continue to engage in acts of family violence and has been evaluated by a treatment program, except that the court may also grant custody to a third party. A parent who has committed or has been indicted for sexually assaulting a child under the provisions of N.J.S.2C:14-2 et seq. or any other crime which results in the death or permanent physical or mental disability of a family member or any other individual would be prohibited from obtaining custody. Under another provision of the bill, the awarding of sole or joint custody could not be conditioned on the fact that an abused parent suffers from the effects of family violence.

      The court may grant supervised or unsupervised visitation if:

      1. the parent has been evaluated by a treatment program for danger to the child or abused parent;

      2. the parent is not abusing alcohol or any other drugs; and

      3. it is in the best interest of the child that the abusive parent be awarded visitation rights.

      If a parent has been indicted for sexually assaulting a child or any other crime which results in the death or disability of a family member, the parent would be prohibited from visiting the child until the resolution of the indictment.

      The bill would also require that if a parent has committed an act of family violence, the abused parent could not be ordered to participate in mediation on the issues of child custody or visitation.

      Finally, the bill would also require that the court order the parent who has committed an act of family violence to pay for all court, medical and evaluation costs of the abused parent and the child incurred as a result of the act of family violence.

      This bill was prefiled for introduction in the 1996-1997 session pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review which has been performed.