Expressing the Sense of Congress That Child Safety is the First Priority of Custody and Visitation Adjudications

Floor Speech

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Mr. RUTHERFORD. Con. Res. 72, currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased we are voting today on this resolution, which expresses the sense of Congress that child safety should be the top priority of custody and visitation adjudications, and that State courts should improve adjudications of custody where family violence is alleged.

Custody adjudications are especially difficult cases, fraught with emotion and complex relationships. States must ensure that the judges presiding over these cases are trained to understand these dynamics and apply appropriate evidentiary standards to parties' evidence.

Most importantly, States should ensure that in these disputes, children's safety comes first.

We have seen tragedies happen throughout the United States where the courts failed the children involved in custody disputes. Over the past decade, the Center for Judicial Excellence has documented 653 child homicides across the United States by a parent involved in a conflict related to divorce, separation, custody, visitation, or child support.

Last year, Ana Estevez's 5-year-old son, Piqui, was murdered by her ex-husband. Despite her efforts to obtain sole custody of Piqui due to her ex-husband's history of abuse, her plea was rejected.

Her estranged husband picked up Piqui, as part of their joint custody arrangement, and took him to Disneyland. That was the last time Ms. Estevez saw her son.

His body was found 2 months later, and her estranged husband eventually confessed to the murder, a tragedy that should never have happened.

Today, we take a step in expressing to States that they must pay special attention to these cases. We hope States will heed this resolution and resolve to evaluate their family court systems and implement measures to put child safety first.

I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions) for bringing this resolution before us.

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Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 72.

First and foremost, this bipartisan resolution expresses the sense of Congress that child safety should be the top priority of any custody and parenting court adjudications and that courts should resolve safety risks and claims of domestic violence first, before taking other interests into consideration.

The resolution also underscores Congress's strong support for the use of scientific-based evidence in family court, including reliance on expert professionals with expertise in relevant types of abuse, trauma, and behaviors of victims and perpetrators by, among other things, establishing specific standards for the preparation of professional reports.

This resolution also encourages States to consider models through which such professional experts can be appointed and paid directly by the courts, as needed.

And, it expresses the sense of Congress that we hold hearings examining family court practices with regards to the fair adjudication of children's safety and civil rights.

House Concurrent Resolution 72 acknowledges that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has found that the United States has failed in its legal obligation to protect women and children from domestic violence.

In recognition of the fact that the problem of domestic violence is among the most serious social problems in this country, the resolution makes a number of important findings in this regard. Child abuse, in- and-of-itself, is a major public health issue--and it costs billions of dollars annually. But the ``cost'' of child abuse cannot be measured in simple monetary terms because, as a study by the Centers for Disease Control tells us, children who experience ``adverse childhood experiences'' are at greater risk to develop certain chronic diseases, like heart disease and cancer. The consequences for children who experience abuse and neglect are long-lasting and long-reaching and cannot be measured easily.

As this resolution finds, child sexual abuse, too, as horrific as it is, is a matter that goes routinely under-documented and under- addressed. But, time and again, research confirms that allegations of domestic violence, child abuse, and child sexual abuse are often discounted when it comes to child custody litigation. Tragically, abusive parents are often granted custody or unprotected parenting time, which places children at constant risk, and the risk of abuse to the child increases when a perpetrator of domestic violence separates from a domestic partner.

Most disturbing is the resolution's finding that documents a minimum of 568 murders of children in the United States in a 10-year period by a parent involved in divorce, separation, custody, visitation, or child support proceedings. In many of these instances, the family courts granted access to the child by the abusive parent, over the objection of the protective parent.

Finally, this resolution recognizes the need for courts to appoint well-qualified professionals, at court expense, who will apply scientifically sound and evidence-based theories, to assist in the adjudication of custody litigation. Because such assistance is not routinely provided, parents seeking to vindicate their rights in custody disputes often incur overwhelming debt and may even need to file for bankruptcy relief as a result. In the United States, this should be unacceptable.

For these reasons, I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting House Concurrent Resolution 72.

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Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank the gentlewoman for her comments and for her hard work on this resolution. I also want to thank Chairman Sessions for bringing this forward today.

I want to encourage all of my colleagues here to vote in the affirmative for H. Con. Res. 72.

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