Significant Changes in Child Custody Laws for Forensic Psychologists

The impetus for changes in child custody laws results from a traumatic story of a young child, Kayden. Kayden’s Law, named after seven-year-old Kayden Mancuso who was tragically killed by her father during a court-ordered visit in 2018, has introduced significant reforms in child custody proceedings across the United States. Enacted as part of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 2022, this legislation aims to enhance child safety by prioritizing the well-being of children in custody decisions, especially in cases involving allegations of abuse or domestic violence. As of December 2024, several states have adopted provisions of Kayden’s law into their statutes. In May 2023, Colorado became another state to enact Kayden’s Law, implementing measures to protect children from parental abuse by informing how “parental alienation” and “reunification programs” operate within the family legal system. In California, the State has incorporated aspects of Kayden’s Law (referred to as Pique’s Law) to ensure child safety during custody disputes, emphasizing thorough evaluations and serious consideration of any past harmful behavior by parents. In Tennessee and Maryland, laws have been enacted with provisions aligned with Kayden’s Law to enhance protection for children in custody proceedings.

Changes in child custody laws will require significant adaptations by forensic psychologists working in this area and consideration by all psychologists. A prior article by this author (Pelc, 2024) outlines the details about these changes, including new training requirements. The current article summarizes additional changes in child custody laws and their adoption in other states. These dynamic modifications appear to be spreading across the nation, as such legislation now has been enacted in multiple states including Colorado, California, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Maryland.

Subsequent to an initial modification of these laws in Colorado in May, 2023, the last legislative session in 2024 passed additional changes in child custody requirements and expectations. Introduced as House Bill 1350 and signed into law in August 2024, these changes in part require the following report additions: the written report must address all information acquired by the evaluator required regarding domestic violence and child abuse. The report must also identify specific information obtained from and about the child specifically. Also, the changes require written disclosure to the parties regarding the specific duties and any limitations in the meeting of those duties by the Parental Responsibilities Evaluator. Importantly, this new law in Colorado provides a definition of coercive control (Walby & Towers, 2018). In the Colorado law, coercive control is defined as a pattern of threatening, humiliating, or intimidating actions, including assaults or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten an individual. Coercive control includes a pattern of behaviors that take away an individual’s liberty or freedom, and strips away an individual’s sense of self, including the individual’s bodily integrity and human rights. Coercive control includes isolating an individual from support, exploiting the individual, depriving the individual of independence, and regulating the individual’s everyday behaviors (CRS 14 – 10 – 124, 1.3 (a)).

This new Colorado law also sets requirements for Judges in these matters including that the Court must give strong consideration if any allegation of domestic violence, child abuse, neglect, or child sexual abuse has been made. Further, the Court is required strongly to consider a child’s stated preference which may have been made to the Court, a children and family investigator, an evaluator, or a child’s legal advocate, if the stated preference is consistent with the paramount consideration given to the child’s safety, the physical, mental, and emotional condition and the needs of the child. The new Statue requires Courts to prioritize child safety in child custody cases and also requires particular emphasis including an increased training expectation for Judges about child abuse.

Beyond the specific changes in Colorado, these new laws more broadly have multiple ramifications. These changes include the necessity of enhanced training requirements. Kayden’s Law mandates that professionals involved in child custody decisions, especially forensic psychologists, receive specialized training in areas such as child abuse and domestic violence, especially an understanding of the dynamics and impact of abuse on children (Lippard, 2019). Training further would inform trauma based care, including recognition and appropriate responding to signs of trauma in children and parents. Further, the training requirements include assessment and mitigation of personal biases that may affect evaluations. These training requirements ensure that evaluators are equipped to handle complex cases involving abuse allegations while also necessitating ongoing education and adaptation to future new standards.

These mandates also lead to stricter standards for expert testimony. The law restricts expert testimony to individuals with appropriate qualifications, emphasizing evidence-based practices. Forensic psychologists must now demonstrate specialized competence in forensic evaluations, which therefore involve obtaining additional certifications and adhering to updated guidelines which are set by professional organizations and legislative bodies. This shift aims to improve the quality of expert input in custody cases, although it may ultimately limit the pool of qualified professionals available for such evaluations.

The new laws place an emphasis on child safety over other considerations in custody disputes requiring forensic psychologists to conduct comprehensive risk assessments. In such assessments, each parents’ history needs to be examined and include identification of prior domestic violence, substance abuse, or criminal activity (Moon et. al., 2020; Milchman, 2024). The new laws require clear recommendations which place the child’s well-being at the foremost, even if they conflict with parental preferences. This focus necessitates a thorough and sometimes challenging analysis of family dynamics to ensure recommendations serve the child’s best interests.

The new laws also create challenges in addressing allegations of parental alienation. The laws scrutinize the use of concepts such as parental alienation in child custody cases, particularly when such claims may overshadow legitimate abuse allegations (see Koehler, 2024; Lewis, 2020; Meier, 2019). In this area, forensic psychologists must differentiate between alienation and protective behavior, assessing whether a child’s reluctance to engage with the parent stems from manipulation, or genuine fear due to past abuse. Further, the evaluator must avoid recommending negative interventions, and refrain from recommending controversial treatments, such as certain reunification programs, which lack empirical support and may harm the child. Navigating these complexities require careful consideration to avoid misinterpretation and ensure the child’s safety.

The new laws will increase the need for documentation and accountability. As heightened scrutiny on custody evaluations occurs, forensic psychologists will be expected to maintain detailed records, documenting all assessments, interviews, and rationale for the recommendations being made in a comprehensive way. The evaluators must be prepared for rigorous cross-examination in order to defend their findings and methodologies in Court with clarity and confidence. This increased accountability ensures transparency, and also requires evaluators to uphold the highest standards of practice.

The new laws and implementation of Kayden’s Law raises ethical dilemmas, particularly concerning two major areas. First, there is a necessity to ensure that recommendations do not unjustly infringe on a parent’s rights while safeguarding the child, so there is a balancing between parental rights and child safety. Further, the evaluator must mitigate any personal biases and remain objective and avoid biases which could influence the evaluation process, especially in emotionally charged cases. Forensic psychologists must navigate these ethical challenges diligently to maintain the integrity of their evaluations

In conclusion, Kayden’s Law represents a pivotal advancement in prioritizing child safety within custody proceedings. For all psychologists, this legislation necessitates adaptations in training, evaluation practices, and ethical considerations. By embracing these changes, professionals can contribute to a legal system that better protects vulnerable children and upholds the principles of justice and welfare.