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Kayden’s Law brings changes to Pennsylvania child custody statute

By Brad Hundt 4 min read
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In August 2018, Kayden Mancuso, a 7-year-old on the cusp of entering the second grade, was beaten to death by her father in his Philadelphia-area home just before he took his own life.

Mancuso’s death was the horrible denouement of a custody battle between her parents that had her father winning custody of her on alternating weekends and holidays despite a history of violence that included punching a dog and biting off a man’s ear in a brawl. There was no evidence, though, that he had ever abused his daughter until he killed her.

The child’s murder and the custody arrangements that led to it sparked a multi-year effort to overhaul Pennsylvania’s custody statute and place the safety of a child at the forefront of decisions on how custody and visitation rights are granted following a split by a child’s parents. Perhaps most significantly, the measure, which has been given the name Kayden’s Law, encourages judges to take a parent’s entire behavioral history and criminal record into account when making custody decisions, even if it does not include specific instances of child abuse. When the law goes into effect in August, it could lead to more parents being able to visit their children only in supervised settings.

Kayden’s Law also encourages the state Supreme Court to put in place annual educational and training programs for judges and court personnel on child abuse, domestic violence and other issues and how these affect children.

“They have to consider abuse in general, not just abuse against the child,” said Kristen Anders Bojarski, a family law attorney based in Upper St. Clair.

When the legislation made it through the General Assembly earlier this year, state Sen. Steve Santasiero, a Democrat from Bucks County and one of the bill’s Senate co-sponsors, said the law will ensure “the safety of the child is paramount in custody cases and that no child will ever again be placed in a dangerous environment.”

Under Kayden’s Law, seven additional crimes must be considered when determining the type of custody a parent can have. They are simple assault; recklessly endangering another person; cruelty to animals; animal fighting; possession of items related to animal fighting; and interference with child custody.

Other states, such as Maryland, Tennessee, Colorado and California, have put laws in place similar to Kayden’s Law. When initially introduced in 2022, the ACLU of Pennsylvania was critical of Kayden’s Law, arguing that it was too broadly written. The organization also asserted that a parent being limited to only supervised visitation as a result of any kind of assault would drive a wedge between parents and their children, particularly those who can’t afford to pay for supervised visitation. The ACLU later altered its stance, saying that revisions in the law that, among other things, clarified an ongoing risk of abuse, made it more palatable.

Sheryl Heid, a family law attorney in Uniontown, said “certainly everyone agrees that child safety is of the utmost concern, no matter which side you’re on,” and added, “I believe (Fayette County’s) judges do their best to ensure every child’s safety.”

She noted, however, that Kayden’s Law would be improved if more funding could be provided for paid supervisors for parental visits. Fayette County used to have an agency that provided supervisors, but it was eliminated in a round of budget cutting.

Bojarski also said a shortage of paid supervisors, whose rates sometimes are as much as $50 per hour, “is going to be an issue in Washington County, and it’s something that we’re concerned about.” The court can allow an unprofessional supervisor for visits, she pointed out, but the court would have to sign off “if they find the individual is capable of supervision.”

Joyce Hatfield-Wise, an attorney who represents Greene County Children and Youth Services, said, ” It is my great hope and prayer that the changes brought by this legislation and by every bad act against a child that we become aware of makes each child safer.”

She continued, “I have read some reviews and some critiques and although no law or court is perfect, we are each called to do our best for the child before us.”

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