AUGUSTA - The Legislature's Judiciary Committee voted unanimously last week to advance legislation sponsored by Rep. Vicki Doudera, D-Camden, that would require expert witnesses in child custody cases to have a certain level of training in domestic abuse and child resilience, safety and security.
In an amended version of LD 538, An Act Regarding the Qualification of Expert Witnesses in Certain Family Court Actions, only experts with training and demonstrated experience may be appointed for expert forensic evaluations or assessments regarding parental rights and responsibilities in child custody cases where domestic abuse has occurred. Experts would need to be a qualified licensed clinical social worker, psychologist or psychiatrist with knowledge on the effects of domestic abuse and violence on children, conditions that support resilience, safety and security tactics, methods for reducing post-separation abuse and best practices for recognizing, asking about and assessing the effects of abuse.
"This bill, suggested to me by a constituent, strengthens the qualifications of evaluators in family court cases," said Doudera. "It helps ensure that the expert witnesses testifying have the proper training and expertise in how domestic abuse and violence continues after the separation of the parents and how it affects children. This will help domestic abuse survivors and their children as they navigate our family courts."
Data from the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence in 2019 showed that domestic violence assaults comprised 33.9% of the total assaults reported to Maine law enforcement. Additionally, each year, one in 15 children live in homes where one of the parents (or the parents partner) abuses the other adult. Roughly 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to the violence.
"When one parent suffers abuse and violence from the other, leaving always centers around a critical question: what will happen with the children," said Doudera. "Survivors in these situations should be able to see our family courts as a trusted resource to help them achieve safety and stability, but for too many survivors in Maine, that is not the reality of their experience."
LD 538 faces further votes in the House and Senate in the coming weeks.
Doudera is serving her third term in the Maine House and is a member of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee and the Marine Resources Committee. She represents the towns of Camden and Rockport and is the Maine State Lead for the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators. She also chairs the Legislature's Gun Safety Caucus.
Contact:
Brian Lee [Doudera], c. 305-965-2744