KYRA’S LAW

Kyra’s Law will help protect children from a parent who intends to harm them. And, we need YOUR help to get this measure to pass!

The Albany Times Union editorial board just wrote a piece on the need for Kyra’s Law. Domestic violence organizations all around New York State, as well as national experts applaud Kyra’s Law.

Kyra’s Law does the following:

•fullsizeoutput_7206.png

  • Requires courts to conduct a review of any findings or allegations of child abuse, domestic violence, heightened danger and risk of lethality before issuing permanent and initial orders of custody or visitation, or successive temporary orders of custody or visitation. The bill includes a series of considerations that should be reviewed, including allegations of violence, a history of violence perpetrated by either party, police reports, use or threats to use a weapon, coercive control, etc. Should the court determine limitations or restrictions of a party’s custody, visitation or contact with the child are necessary, the court would be required to set forth conditions in the order that prioritize the avoidance of significant risk to the child’s safety;;

  • Requires courts to set forth the reasons for their decision- making on the record and in writing. Parties would have the ability to appeal any orders of custody or visitation or the conditions or restrictions contained within such orders. Appeals would be heard on an expedited timeframe;

  • Clarifiess that, when evaluating best interest factors of the child for issuance of a final order of custody or visitation, the court shall prioritize and promote the safety of children by assessing whether either parent is more likely to protect the safety of the child and whether either party poses a significant risk to the safety of the child; any findings or allegations of abuse, heightened danger and risk of lethality; conviction of family offenses; use or threats to use a weapon; threats to harm or kill the child, the other parent, or companion animals; and incidents of stalking, cyber stalking, or coercive control;

  • Restricts the court from ordering joint legal custody unless the parties’ consent or where it has been determined that the parties can effectively communicate, cooperate with one another and make joint decisions concerning the child. In no case could a court order joint legal custody when there is an existing full stay away order of protection or when there is an existing temporary order of protection entered ex parte;

  • Prohibits the court from awarding custody or visitation to a party who jeopardizes the safety of the child;

  • In cases involving DV or child abuse, restrict the court from presuming that a child’s reluctance to interact with a parent was caused by the other parent, and restrict the court from ordering custody to a parent for the purpose of improving a relationship between the child and such parent; and

  • Enhances current training requirements for judges, referees and other hearing officers handling child custody proceedings and require such training to be developed and offered by the state Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, NYSCADV and other nonprofits with expertise in child abuse and gender-based violence, in consultation with the Office of Court Administration. Enhance current training requirements for judges, referees and other hearing officers handling child custody proceedings and require such training to be developed and offered by the state Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and DV and child abuse advocates, in consultation with the Office of Court Administration.Our courts need to be a place our communities, and our children, can trust.

Child safety is NOT complicated.

Kyra’s Law
Child Safety First
(A. 3342 - Hevesi / S. 3170 - Skoufis)

Kyra Franchetti was 28-months-old when she was shot to death in her sleep by her father during an unsupervised, court-approved visit, despite warnings and eyewitness accounts of threatening, abusive, and concerning behavior. What happened to Kyra can happen to a child you know and love, unless legislative changes are made.

Kyra’s murder, like many others, was 100% preventable. Kyra is one of 23 children to be murdered by their parent while going through a divorce, separation, or child custody case in New York since 2016.

Today, in divorce/family court, peer-reviewed research studies confirm our divorce/family court system gets most custody cases involving abuse dangerously wrong. Kyra’s Law will help prevent children from being sexually, physically and emotionally abused, or murdered, at the hands of their own parent.

Children in New York have the right to live safely in their homes and communities. They deserve to be kept free from harm, even when their parents become abusive. That’s what New York’s judicial system is intended to do. However, in every courthouse in every county in New York, courts fails our children at epidemic rates.