State Laws Aimed at Preventing Parental Abduction


When children are taken or retained across international borders, it may be nearly impossible to get them back-or even for the left behind parent to maintain contact with the child. The child is effectively denied access to one of his/her parents.

While the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction has provided some relief in the return of children unlawfully taken across international borders, it can only be applied in cases where children have been taken to Hague signatory countries. More than half of the countries in the world have not ratified this international instrument.

Children at risk to be taken to Asian countries, Middle East countries, and non-compliant Hague countries may find protection in prevention law. The first State to enact prevention law was California. The draft was written, prepared, and lobbied heavily by Larry Synclair, the parent of a child taken to Russia. Larry never saw his child again ,and understood the need for protection and prevention. The Synclair- Cannon Act was passed into law and required California courts to take note of risk factors and to implement safe guards in cases that presented a risk to the child to be abducted. 

The second state to enact prevention law was Texas. Once again, parents involved in internatonal abduction cases, drafted legislation.  Teresa Lauderdale and Cathy Brown made  enhancements to the Synclair-Cannon Act, and created the Texas prevention law.  Lauderdale and Brown then encouraged Brown's  former attorney, Harry Tindall, to take it to NCCUSL; Tindall is a Tx commissioner with NCCUSL. In 2006, the NCCUSL approved and presented the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act (UCAPA). In 2007, The American Bar Association, House of Delegates endorsed the act.

 In 2006, the NCCUSL approved and recomended the UNIFORM CHILD ABDCUTION PREVENTION ACT (UCAPA). In 2007, the American Bar Association, House of Delegates endorsed the Act.

By 2009, seven states have put into place UCAPA laws, with others still pending bills.
Nebraska (2/07), Utah (3/07), Kansas (4/07), South Dakota (07), Nevada (5/07), Colorado (5/07), and

Pending in at least nine more jurisdictions according to a letter from the UCAPA staff to the New Jersey Law Revision Commission on May 5, 2008.

Idaho – SB 1263 was passed by the Senate on 1/31/08 and still awaiting a House vote;

Michigan – HB 4925 was introduced on 6/19/07 and referred to the House Committee on Judiciary, nothing further is reported;

New Hampshire – HB 1383 is in interim study, pending before the House Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety; last hearing was in March 2008; --

Pennsylvania – HB 1546 was introduced on 6/18/07 and nothing further is reported;

District of Columbia – 17-626 is scheduled for hearing 5/20/08 before the Committee on Public Safety;

Texas – HB 2770 passed the House and is pending in the Senate as of 5/07 when it was recommended for the local and uncontested calendar;

Connecticut – SB 00595 was referred to the Joint Committee on Judiciary in 2007, nothing further to report;

South Carolina – S 486 was referred to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on 3/1/07, nothing further to report; and

Virgin Islands – was introduced as part of large Government Reform Bill in 2006, nothing further to report.

The bill’s introduction in New Mexico apparently died, though it is unclear why.

For More Information on Abduction Prevention
visit
P.I.P.C.A.
(Preventing International Parental Child Abduction)

For Professional Prevention Services,  i.e. (Expert wtiness, risk evaluations, mediated agreements, etc).

visit Dabbagh & Associates at www.dabbaghandassociates.net
or Accord-Global at www.Accord-global.com