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Protective Parent Reform Act
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Protective Parent Reform Act  
Purpose of Act:
To adopt a Protective Parent Reform Act in order to prevent courts in child custody and visitation cases from placing a child who is abused or neglected, or who lives in a home in which family violence exists, in the custody of the abusive, neglectful or violent parent and from limiting the protective parent's custody, visitation and contact rights.
 
The Protective Parent Reform Act passed in Wisconsin, Alaska and Tennessee and is presently proposed in Connecticut.
 

*Alaska Protective Parent Reform Act - HB 385 passed with a unanimous vote in both the Alaska House and Senate on 5/11/04. Click Here for Text.

To summarize, the Alaska bill: 
elevates the weighting of domestic violence in the best  interest of the child factors makes consideration of domestic violence a factor in temporary custody decisions, and not based just solely on equal and frequent contact disallows the "friendly parent" provision where there is domestic violence/child abuse (its difficult for a victim or protective parent to really be "friendly" with someone that abuses you or your children) institutes a rebuttable presumption that batterers will not get custody of children.

 

*Connecticut Protective Parent Reform Act (Proposed). Click Here for the Text of the Act.

Summarize the Purpose of the Connecticut Bill:
To adopt a Protective Parent Reform Act in order to prevent courts in child custody and visitation cases from placing a child who is abused or neglected, or who lives in a home in which family violence exists, in the custody of the abusive, neglectful or violent parent and from limiting the protective parent's custody, visitation and contact rights.

Rhode Island Protective Parent Reform Act Effort

*Tennessee Protective Parent Reform Act - Passed May 10, 2004. Click here for Text of the Act.

Click here for Article about Tennessee passing the Protective Parent Reform Act.

*Wisconsin Protective Parent Reform Act - Passed February 27, 2004. Click here for Text of the Act.