Meeting: 2023-2024
ACLU-PA position: Neutral
Last session, the ACLU-PA opposed the Kayden Bill (SB 78). However, this session the Kayden Law was amended as SB 55 and as a result the ACLU-PA changed its position from opposing to neutral.
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SB 55 (PN 1169) now provides greater clarity and precision and addresses most of our concerns with the underlying bill, particularly the following provisions:
- Supervised custody: SB 55 changed the presumption for supervised physical custody to now require a sustained risk of abuse. This addressed our concerns that the court could view any history of abuse as supervision detention, regardless of how old or attenuated the facts may be. This updated provision would balance the need to protect children from real, credible threats of abuse with the ability for parents to continue to exercise some level of custody.
- Protection from Abuse Orders (PFAs): SB 55 now clarifies that the criteria for granting custody have been adjusted to include PFA orders only when abuse is determined. This addressed our concerns that the Bill may have allowed all PFA orders to be taken into account when awarding custody, including PFAs that are the result of consent rather than a hearing. Adjusting the criteria to require a finding of abuse means that the parties present evidence at a hearing, the judge weighs the evidence and records the finding of abuse. This protects due process and ensures claims are supported by facts.
- Criminal convictions: While the ACLU-PA remains concerned about including a simple assault conviction among the criteria for determining custody, SB 55 would clarify that a criminal conviction alone is not the determining factor in granting custody. Ensuring that a conviction must take into account the totality of the circumstances and the best interests of the child provides some protection against using a conviction as a blunt instrument, particularly convictions for simple assault.
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