Training for Forensic Child Custody Evaluators
(A2375/S6385)

THIS BILL WAS SIGNED INTO LAW IN 2022

On a cold and snowy day in February, Jacqueline Franchetti, Kyra’s Mom, traveled to Albany to tell Assemblyman Jeffery Dinowitz about Kyra’s custody case. She wanted to ask for his help in changing New York’s badly broken family court system. After that meeting, as the Chair of the Judiciary Committee, he held a hearing on the role forensic evaluators play in child custody cases. Jacqueline was one of only five people invited to testify, and the only victim. The testimonies brought to light the dire need for change with forensic evaluators in child custody cases. From that hearing, this critical bill emerged.

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Child custody cases are life and death situations, and it is critical those doing forensic evaluations understand the intricate dynamics of family violence, child abuse and trauma. In New York State, the forensic evaluation profession is akin to the wild, wild, west. There are far too many unskilled and untrained forensic evaluators doing child custody reports, and the results are horrific. Their reports are often rubber stamped into court orders. As a result, children are being court-ordered into a home with a parent who is physically, sexually or mentally abusing them at staggering rates.

Jacqueline has been vocal about how the forensic evaluator in Kyra’s case failed. The Times Union points to Jacqueline’s role in drafting this desperately needed legislation.

This law will go into effect in December 2023.

This training bill will do the following:

  • Requires evaluators receive 40 hours of initial training followed with training every two years concerning the dynamics of domestic violence disputes and child abuse cases;

  • Calls for the state Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence to contract with the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, to create the training program; and

  • Mandates all forensic evaluators in New York be licensed psychologists, psychiatrists, or social workers.