Photo credit: Kayden’s Korner
The Pennsylvania Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would reform the child custody process.
Senate Bill 78, known as Kayden’s Act, has bipartisan support. It passed 46 to 4 and next leads to the Pennsylvania House.
The legislation was introduced by State Senator Steve Santarsiero, a Democrat from Lower Makefield Township, and State Senator Lisa Baker, a Republican who serves Lucerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties. The two are the chairs of the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee.
Santarsiero’s office called the bill “pioneering legislation that will save children’s lives.”
The Kayden Act would reform the process for hearing child custody, strengthening factors that Pennsylvania judges must consider in custody and visitation decisions and adding safeguards and limitations to custody orders when the court finds a history of abuse or an ongoing Risk identifies abuse and recommends that the state court system add an annual education and training program for judges and court officials.
“Make no mistake, if Senate Bill 78 gets signed, it will save children’s lives,” Santarsiero said. “No child in Pennsylvania should ever be left alone with an abuser, period. Kayden’s Law will help ensure this never happens again.”
State Senator Steve Santarsiero speaking to reporters.
Photo credit: PA Internet News Service
Baker stated, “Too many terrible tragedies are explained away on the unacceptable excuse that no system can protect everyone or predict the actions of those intent on violence. Our responsibility in protecting children is to take all reasonable steps to protect them from harm.”
In 2018, 7-year-old Kayden Mancuso, a 7-year-old elementary school student from Lower Makefield Township, was killed in Philadelphia by her father during an unsupervised visit. Her father, who killed himself, had made threats in the past, but a circuit judge had authorized unsupervised visits. The girl’s death put the custody case in the spotlight, including in the national press.
State Representatives Tina Davis, a Bristol Township Democrat, and Perry Warren, a Newtown Borough Democrat, were both working alongside advocates on the issue, Santarsiero said.
In a statement, Kayden’s mother, Kathy Sherlock, responded to the Senate approval.
“We’ve worked so hard for years to see this day for justice for Kayden and for all the children who are put at risk by family courts every day,” she said. “Kayden’s law could have saved my daughter if it had been in effect in 2018. Let’s hope it helps other children who are now suffering and at risk.”
Pennsylvania’s American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) opposed the bill earlier this year. The group said the bill could have “unintended consequences” for families.
The Kayden Act was first introduced in 2019 but was not passed by the legislature until its term expired in 2020.
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