Concerns child custody determinations and proceedings; requires child abuse and adverse childhood experiences training.

A1471

ASSEMBLY, No. 1471

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ANTWAN L. MCCLELLAN

District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)

SYNOPSIS

���� Concerns child custody determinations and
proceedings; requires child abuse and adverse childhood experiences training.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning child custody and child abuse proceedings
and training for certain judicial employees, amending various parts of the
statutory law and supplementing Title 9 of the Revised Statutes

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� R.S.9:2-4 is amended to
read as follows:

���� 9:2-4.� The Legislature finds
and declares that it is in the public policy of this State to assure minor
children of frequent and continuing contact with both parents after the parents
have separated or dissolved their marriage and that it is in the public
interest to encourage parents to share the rights and responsibilities of child
rearing in order to effect this policy.

���� In any proceeding involving
the custody of a minor child, the rights of both parents shall be equal and the
court shall enter an order which may include:

���� a.���� Joint custody of a
minor child to both parents, which is comprised of legal custody or physical
custody which shall include:

���� (1)�� provisions for
residential arrangements so that a child shall reside either solely with one
parent or alternatively with each parent in accordance with the needs of the
parents and the child; and

���� (2)�� provisions for
consultation between the parents in making major decisions regarding the
child's health, education and general welfare;

���� b.��� Sole custody to one
parent with appropriate parenting time for the noncustodial parent
. In
making a parenting time determination, the court shall consider:

����
(1)�� any attempt by a
parent to turn the child against the other parent;

����
(2)�� which parent is
likely to permit continuing contact between the child and the other parent;

����
(3)�� the past and present
parental and caretaker duties performed by each parent on behalf of the child;
and

����
(4)�� which parent is more
likely to ensure the health and safety of the child
; or

���� c.���� Any other custody
arrangement as the court may determine to be in the best interests of the
child.

���� In making an award of custody,
the court shall consider but not be limited to the following factors: the
parents' ability to agree, communicate and cooperate in matters relating to the
child; the parents' willingness to accept custody and any history of unwillingness
to allow parenting time not based on substantiated abuse; the interaction and
relationship of the child with its parents

and siblings; the history of
domestic violence, if any; the safety of the child and the safety of either
parent from physical abuse by the other parent; the preference of the child
when of sufficient age and capacity to reason so as to form an intelligent
decision; the needs of the child; the stability of the home environment
offered; the quality and continuity of the child's education; the fitness of the
parents; the geographical proximity of the parents' homes; the extent and
quality of the time spent with the child prior to or subsequent to the
separation; the parents' employment responsibilities; and the age and number of
the children.� A parent shall not be deemed unfit unless the parents' conduct
has a substantial adverse effect on the child.

���� The court, for good cause and
upon its own motion, may appoint a guardian ad litem or an attorney or both to
represent the minor child's interests.� The court shall have the authority to
award a counsel fee to the guardian ad litem and the attorney and to assess
that cost between the parties to the litigation.

���� d.��� The court shall order
any custody arrangement which is agreed to by both parents unless it is
contrary to the best interests of the child.

���� e.���� In any case in which
the parents cannot agree to a custody arrangement, the court may require each
parent to submit a custody plan which the court shall consider in awarding
custody.

���� f.���� The court shall
specifically place on the record the factors which justify any custody
arrangement not agreed to by both parents.

����
g.��� The court shall
consider the negative impacts of a prolonged court process for child custody on
familial dynamics and whether a prolonged court process might exacerbate a
serious risk of substantial or irreversible harm to any child.� When a child
custody proceeding is occurring at the same time as a child abuse proceeding
involving the same child, the court shall make a determination without delay so
as to serve the best interests of the child.�

(cf: P.L.1997, c.299, s.9)

���� 2.��� Section 4 of P.L.1991,
c.261 (C.2C:25-20) is amended to read as follows:

���� 4.��� a.� (1)� The Division of
Criminal Justice shall develop and approve a training course and curriculum on
the handling, investigation and response procedures concerning reports of
domestic violence and abuse and neglect of the elderly and disabled.� This training
course and curriculum shall be reviewed at least every two years and modified
by the Division of Criminal Justice from time to time as need may require.� The
Division of Criminal Justice shall distribute the curriculum to all local
police agencies.

���� (2)�� The Attorney General
shall be responsible for ensuring that all law enforcement officers attend
initial training within 90 days of appointment or transfer and annual inservice
training of at least four hours as described in this section.

���� b.��� (1)� The Administrative
Office of the Courts shall develop and approve a training course
,

[
and
]
a curriculum
,
and an ongoing educational program for all judges and court personnel
on
the handling, investigation and response procedures concerning allegations of
domestic violence
and child abuse
.�
The Administrative Office of the
Courts shall provide that all training and educational material on domestic
violence and child abuse include information concerning the impact of child
abuse and domestic violence on children, current evidence-based and peer-reviewed
research by recognized experts in domestic violence and child abuse, and
statutory and case law concerning domestic violence and child abuse.� The
domestic violence and child abuse training and educational program shall
include, but not be limited to, maltreatment, sexual abuse, physical abuse,
emotional abuse, implicit and explicit bias, trauma, mental trauma, neglect,
and the impact of domestic violence and child abuse on children. The material
shall include the necessary elements of a protection order, policies and
procedures as promulgated or ordered by the Attorney General or the Supreme
Court, and the use of available community resources, support services, and
available sanctions and treatment options.
� This training course shall be
reviewed at least every two years and modified by the Administrative Office of
the Courts from time to time as need may require.

���� (2)�� The Administrative
Director of the Courts shall be responsible for ensuring that all judges and
judicial personnel attend initial training within 90 days of appointment or
transfer and annual inservice training as described in this section.

���� (3)�� The Division of Criminal
Justice and the Administrative Office of the Courts shall provide that all
training on the handling of domestic violence matters shall include information
concerning the impact of domestic violence on society, the dynamics of domestic
violence, the statutory and case law concerning domestic violence, the
necessary elements of a protection order, policies and procedures as
promulgated or ordered by the Attorney General or the Supreme Court, and the
use of available community resources, support services, available sanctions and
treatment options.� Law enforcement agencies shall: (1) establish domestic
crisis teams or participate in established domestic crisis teams, and (2) shall
train individual officers in methods of dealing with domestic violence and
neglect and abuse of the elderly and disabled.� The teams may include social
workers, clergy or other persons trained in counseling, crisis intervention or
in the treatment of domestic violence and neglect and abuse of the elderly and
disabled victims.

(cf: P.L.1999, c.433, s.1)

���� 3.��� (New section)� a.� If
the court receives a report that a child has been subjected to child abuse,
including sexual abuse, and the child may be suffering from mental anguish or
emotional harm, the court may direct the child to a regional diagnostic and
treatment center, as established pursuant to R.S.9:6-8.99 et seq., for an
evaluation by persons with experience in addressing the medical and mental
health needs of abused children.

���� b.��� The court shall record
any mental health evaluation of the child conducted subsequent to the
allegation of child abuse and may use the information provided by the
diagnostic and treatment center to determine appropriate sentencing pursuant to
R.S.9:6-3 or a custody award pursuant to R.S.9:2-4, that may result from the
allegation of abuse.

���� 4.��� (New section) a.� The
Administrative Office of the Courts, in consultation with the Department of
Children and Families, shall develop training materials related to adverse
childhood experiences.

���� b.��� Any judge of the New
Jersey Superior Court, Chancery Division, Family Part, shall biennially review
the training materials required in subsection a. of this section for the
purpose of making trauma-informed and healing-centered determinations in
juvenile proceedings.�

���� c.���� Expert testimony may be
permitted by the court during a fact-finding hearing pursuant to section 24 of
P.L.1974, c.119 (C.9:6-8.44) or a dispositional hearing pursuant to section 25
of P.L.1974, c.119 (C.9:6-8.45). �Any expert testifying on the emotional or
physical health of a victim of child abuse shall review the training materials
required in subsection a. of this section.�

���� d.��� �Adverse childhood
experiences� means the same as that term is defined in section 1 of P.L.2019,
c.412 (C.18A:37-38).

���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes
additional factors for the court to consider in making a parenting time
determination in child custody cases. Under the bill, a judge is to consider
the following factors in awarding parenting time to a noncustodial parent: any
attempt by one parent to turn the child against the other; the likeliness a
parent will permit the child to see the other parent; the past and present
parental and caretaking duties of each parent; and which parent is more likely
to promote the health and safety of the child.

���� Further, the bill requires a
court to consider the negative impacts of a prolonged court process for child
custody on familial dynamics and whether a prolonged process might exacerbate a
serious risk of a substantial or irreversible harm to any child by a parent
involved in the process.� When a child custody proceeding is occurring at the
same time as a child abuse proceeding involving the same child, the court is
required to make a determination without delay to serve the best interest of
the child.�

���� This bill also requires the
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to modify its existing training and
educational programs to include training related to child abuse and to cover
all aspects of abuse, including sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse,
implicit and explicit bias, mental abuse, trauma, neglect, maltreatment, and
the impact of child abuse and domestic violence on children.� The program
should include best practices from evidence-based and peer-reviewed research.

���� The education and training
program will improve the ability of judges and court personnel to recognize the
impact of child abuse, and make appropriate custody and parenting time
decisions that are in the best interest of the child.

���� Finally, this bill requires
that family court judges, and experts testifying on the emotional or physical
health of a victim of child abuse review material related to adverse childhood
experiences as prepared by the AOC and the Department of Children and
Families.� The training materials are to include best practices and research
and provide information for the court to make trauma-informed and
healing-centered determinations.� This bill defines an �adverse childhood
experience� as severe childhood stressors that, when experienced prenatal to
three years old, affect brain development and which are proven to be powerful
determinants of physical, mental, social, and behavioral health across a
lifespan.� Adverse childhood experiences may include, but are not limited,
child physical or sexual abuse, child emotional abuse, child physical or
emotional neglect, alcohol or other substance abuse in the home, mental illness
or suicidal behaviors in the home, incarceration of a family member, exposure
to violence in the home or community, and parental divorce or separation.