Colorado - The First State to Combat Reunification Treatment

February 2, 2024

By: Peter Frerichs

The reunification of a child with their parent is always considered in family law. Yet, despite the benefits (in the best of cases), there are too many examples where reunification places the child back in danger with an abusive parent.

A recent Colorado House Bill (HB 23-1178) is the first in the country aligned to comply with the federal “Keeping Children Safe From Family Violence Act.” Also known as “Kayden’s Law,” the Act incentivizes states to ensure at-risk children are adequately protected through state-specific child custody laws.

Named after Kayden Mancuso, a Pennsylvania child murdered by her father, Kayden’s mother had submitted evidence to the court surrounding the father’s violent and abusive history. Yet, the court still granted Kayden’s father unsupervised custody time. It was during this time that he beat his daughter to death, ultimately tying a bag over her head and leaving a note blaming his actions on his estranged wife.

It’s a harrowing story but one that is all too common with children across the country. Estimates point to tens of thousands of children every year who have had contact with their protective parent cut and court-ordered to reunify with an abusive parent. Some are supervised, but many are not. The Act provides federal funds to states that improve their child custody laws. Specifically:

• Providing training to court personnel on family violence subject matters such as trauma, physical and emotional abuse, victim and perpetrator behaviors, and coercive control.

• Regulating the use of therapies and reunification measures that have not been proven effective and safe. “Reunification therapy” must only be used when proven scientifically valid, of therapeutic value, and safe.

• Limiting court-appointed testimony to those with demonstrated expertise in their area.

• Ensuring family courts take into account the existence of protection from abuse orders when considering custody requests.

Parental alienation is an issue with some reunification programs. While there are cases where the protective parent does seek to alienate the other parent, a swing in the opposite direction of forced reunification can be life-threatening. A ProPublica investigation uncovered programs that used “physical restraint, threats and the removal of personal items including food, clothing, and shower supplies" to force children to comply with treatment. ProPublica went on to cite that while mainstream scientific circles have rejected the notion of parental alienation, custody decisions still remain influenced by the desire to arrive at eventual reunification.