Interstate Custody Problems Revisited
| Publication year | 1982 |
| Pages | 2596 |
| Citation | Vol. 11 No. 10 Pg. 2596 |
1982, October, Pg. 2596. Interstate Custody Problems Revisited
In the May 1982 column, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act ("UCCJA"), and the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act of 1980 ("PKPA") were discussed in general terms as state and federal legislative reactions to the problem of interstate child custody and parental kidnapping. The scope of the child snatching and custodial forum-shopping dilemma has assumed serious proportions nationwide. Although estimates of the current statistics are not reliable for obvious reasons, it has been suggested that from 25,000 to 100,000 children may be abducted annually by parents or surrogate custodians.(fn1)
Although the UCCJA (now adopted in 48 states) and the PKPA have been major examples of statutory response to the problem, the complexity of interstate child custody and parental kidnapping transcends the bounds of these remedies. Included in the panoply of issues not covered by these two acts are the following: (1) how to locate the abducted child; (2) the implementation of criminal sanctions against the abducting parent; (3) application of remedies where the abductor parent is in the military service; (4) the implementation of international law to aid in civil aspects of child abduction; and (5) tort remedies available in child abduction cases. In addition, the interplay between the UCCJA as state law and the PKPA as federal law applicable to interstate child custody jurisdiction and parental kidnapping cases still needs to be communicated to the bench and bar of the various states.
Toward this end, on September 10 and 11, 1982, in Washington, D.C., the Child Custody Project of the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association sponsored its "First National Conference on Interstate Custody and Parental Kidnapping Cases." The program, attended by over 140 lawyers, judges, mental health professionals and concerned parents of abducted children, was the culmination of a two-year project funded by the Children's Bureau, Department of Health and Human Services.
The project's goal was to foster improved understanding and more effective utilization of applicable laws affecting interstate and international child custody disputes and child snatching. In association with the...
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