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Guidelines to help in family law cases involving domestic abuse

ANNIE YAMSON
Special to the Legal News

Published: October 21, 2016

Last week, the Supreme Court of Ohio released a guide meant to assist domestic and juvenile courts in sorting out custody and visitation issues in cases involving domestic violence.

"Each case that involves an allocation of parental rights and responsibilities presents a unique set of circumstances, i.e., strengths and challenges in the family," the guide states. "The Domestic Violence & Allocation of Parental Rights and Responsibilities Court Guide is a tool for courts to consider domestic violence-related information and assess its impact in light of risk, statutory best interest factors and appropriate parenting time arrangements."

The guide was prepared by the high court's Domestic Violence Program in collaboration with its Advisory Committee on Domestic Violence, the Center for Court Innovation and the Battered Women's Justice Project.

According to the high court's news service, judges, magistrates, court administrators and court personnel working in domestic violence and juvenile courts will receive copies of the guide at upcoming courses hosted by the court.

The guide offers courts several, specific risk factors to consider when crafting parenting time and custody and is organized into three, interrelated areas: evidence-based lethality or risk factors, statutory best interest factors and parenting plan continuum.

The first section covers risk factors such as abuse during pregnancy, stalking, threats to kill, access to firearms and other weapons and even signs of jealousy or obsession.

"Exposure to these types of violence is likely to result in higher levels of trauma for the child and non-offending parent," the guide states. "The factors noted are evidence-based, provide an indicia of how past or ongoing domestic violence heighten risks of harm to the child and parents, and may indicate a marked risk for future serious injury or homicide."

The guide also cautions courts not to use the factors to come up with a total "score," since the presence of only one dangerous factor could heighten the risk of lethality.

Along with blatant acts of violence and threats, the guide includes as risk factors animal abuse, the avoidance of consequences despite contact with the justice system and the perpetrator's "state of mind," taking into account irritability, moodiness, sleep disturbances and symptoms of depression, all of which have been proven to heighten the risk of domestic violence.

The guide also address the child's best interest factors, which are also included in state law.

"The nature, frequency, and severity of the violence provide context regarding the impact of domestic violence in the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities, particularly if issues of child maltreatment or abuse are raised, and are determining criteria in the statutory best interest factors' analysis," the guide states.

Ohio Revised Code Section 3109.04 orders courts to consider factors such as the wishes of the child's parents and the wishes of the child, the mental and physical health of all parties involved, the relationships the child has developed in their community, the parents' history of compliance with court orders and any history of missed child support payments and domestic abuse.

Courts are also required to evaluate the ability of each parent to encourage the sharing of love, affection and contact between the child and the other parent when considering shared parenting agreements.

The guide also addresses the best interests of the child when courts consider companionship rights.

The last section of guide, which address the parenting plan continuum, offers guidance for each type of parenting-time arrangement.

"Generally, shared parenting (i.e., with parallel parenting or coparenting terms) or unsupervised parenting time are appropriate for families where there is no significant history of or only isolated acts of domestic violence," the guide states. "Conversely, suspended contact or supervised parenting time is recommended for families who have experienced serious abuse, coercive control, and stalking.

"Over time, the court may reassess to determine whether restrictions, once imposed, may be modified to permit more (or less) contact."

The guide also advises courts about its limitations and warns that it is not exhaustive or a substitute for a court's discretion.

"It is not a domestic violence screening or information collection tool and should not be used for either of those purposes," the document states. "Therefore, the guide should not be filled out, scored in any way, or placed in any court file.

"The guide is meant to bring to the forefront the intersection of lethality or risk factors and statutory best interest factors to help courts craft parenting time orders that maximize safety and well-being of the child and the parents."

The project was supported by a grant from the United States Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women.

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