WASHINGTON, D.C., March 16, 2022 -Signed by President Biden, Keeping Children Safe from Family Violence, or "Kayden's Law" for short, in VAWA is the first child safety federal law that incentivizes states to adopt private, child safety legislaton to help end our family court crisis. Our thanks to Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) for his bill; for Danielle Pollack and Joan Meier working to write this bill; and for Congressmembers Sen. Feinstein, Sen. Durbin, Sen. Ernst and Sen. Murkowski for leading VAWA (and including Kayden's Law) as well as all who signed on and supported this bill.
Kayden's Law is named after Kayden Mancuso. Her protective parent, Kathy Sherlock, fought to protect her from her abusive father with a documented history of violence and mental instability. The courts refused to protect Kayden with full protective orders. On an unsupervised visit with her father, Kayden, only seven years old, was violently murdered by him on August 5, 2018.
Kathy immediately starting advocating for child safety at the state level where Danielle Pollack was already working to introduce federal and state level child safety laws. Together with her colleague Joan Meier at The National Family Violence Law Center at GW, Danielle and Joan helped Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick introduce a new bill that was based on the Pennsylvania state bill they wrote with Richard Ducote for PA State Senators Santarsiero and Baker as well as Representative Davis.
Kayden's Law was added into VAWA, passed in Congress with the Omnibus package, and signed by President Biden on March 16, 2022.
The Keeping Children Safe From Family Violence Act or "Kayden’s Law" in VAWA, incentivizes states to ensure that their child custody laws adequately protect at-risk children by:
1. Restricting expert testimony to only those who are appropriately qualified to provide it.
Evidence from court-appointed or outside professionals regarding alleged abuse may be admitted only when the professional possesses demonstrated expertise and experience in working with victims of domestic violence or child abuse, including child sexual abuse.
2. Limiting the use of reunification camps and therapies which cannot be proven to be safe and effective. No “reunification treatment" may be ordered by the court without scientifically valid and generally accepted proof of the safety, effectiveness and therapeutic value of the particular treatment.
3. Providing evidence-based ongoing training to judges and court personnel on family violence subject matter, including: (i) child sexual abuse; (ii) physical abuse; (iii) emotional abuse; (iv) coercive control; (v) implicit and explicit bias; (vi) trauma; (vii) long and short-term impacts of domestic violence and child abuse on children; and (viii) victim and perpetrator behaviors.
16 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Keeping Children Safe
17 From Family Violence Act’’ or ‘‘Kayden’s Law’’.
or on the Congressional website:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2471/text
(do a find for Keeping Children Safe from Family Violence")
or print this page for a handout
Watch President Biden's Conference from March 16, 2022 when Kayden's Law was signed into VAWA.
https://youtu.be/dnjNvic4JjE
Now that Keeping Children Safe from Family Violence or Kayden's Law is a federal law, you can bring this exact language to your state. Our thanks to all protective parents, including Kathy Sherlock, Kayden's mom, who have leaned in to be the change despite the trauma. Advocates working with experts is the key to bringing this to the state level.
Here are the next steps:
Forward together means joining forces with others across the nation to be the change. Protective parents, advocates, experts are coming together with the National Safe Parent Organization.
You can join the advocacy group, connect with others in your state and work together to bring Kayden's Law to your state legislators.
Join by going to the National Safe Parent Organization website.
Founded in January 2022, the National Safe Parents Organization (NSPO) represents dozens of family court reform and advocacy organizations, including more than 100,000 survivor parents and concerned citizens in the United States advocating for evidence-based policies which put child safety and risks at the forefront of child custody decisions.
All protective parents have a story. Knowing how to share your story is important.
When you meet wtih your legislators, you may only have three to 15 minutes to share. You want to make sure you share how the court was unable to aid you, how any abuse may have been dismissed and present the solution of Kayden's Law.
Every state has senators and assembly members or representatives. You can look them up online, ask for a meeting either in your local office or at your state capitol.
Gather your group to join you. Bring print outs of Kayden's Law, know your ask to add this to your state legislation and be ready to share your story.
The Keeping Children Safe From Family Violence Act or "Kayden’s Law" in VAWA, incentivizes states to ensure that their child custody laws adequately protect at-risk children by:
1. Restricting expert testimony to only those who are appropriately qualified to provide it.
Evidence from court-appointed or outside professionals regarding alleged abuse may be admitted only when the professional possesses demonstrated expertise and experience in working with victims of domestic violence or child abuse, including child sexual abuse.
2. Limiting the use of reunification camps and therapies which cannot be proven to be safe and effective. No “reunification treatment" may be ordered by the court without scientifically valid and generally accepted proof of the safety, effectiveness and therapeutic value of the particular treatment.
3. Providing evidence-based ongoing training to judges and court personnel on family violence subject matter, including: (i) child sexual abuse; (ii) physical abuse; (iii) emotional abuse; (iv) coercive control; (v) implicit and explicit bias; (vi) trauma; (vii) long and short-term impacts of domestic violence and child abuse on children; and (viii) victim and perpetrator behaviors.
Forward together! This movement happens with the advocates voices and the media coverage. Your voice and the movement amplified helps support legislators to move policy and get it passed for your state. We thank Angelina Jolie who stepped in to speak of Kayden's Law to get it passed, Kate Snow with NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt for covering the crisis and the signing of Kayden's Law in VAWA, and all who have used their voice and position to better tell of this crisis to end it.
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