It has been 30-60 days since an anonymous complaint was made on the Child Line accusing you of child abuse. The investigation has been completed and a report issued. What does that report say? Children and Youth/DHS will send a letter giving the finding and explaining what it means. The letter will contain one of three results. These are Unfounded, Indicated, or Founded. What do each of them mean.

An Unfounded report is defined as any report that is not Indicated or Founded. That means that there is no proof that any actions of the accused person rose to the level of child abuse as defined in the Child Protective Service statutes.

An Indicated report is one where there is substantial evidence that an action of the accused rose to the level of child abuse based on available medical evidence, a child protective service investigation, or an admission of the alleged abuser. Typically this will be a one time act with no on going threat to the child.

A Founded report is one involving a perpetrator that is made pursuant to this chapter, if any of the following applies:

(1) There has been a judicial adjudication based on a finding that a child who is a subject of the report has been abused and the adjudication involves the same factual circumstances involved in the allegation of child abuse.

(2) There has been an acceptance into an accelerated rehabilitative disposition program and the reason for the acceptance involves the same factual circumstances involved in the allegation of child abuse.

(3) There has been a consent decree entered in a juvenile proceeding that involves the same factual circumstances.

(4) A final protection from abuse order has been granted when the child who is a subject of the report is one of the individuals protected under the protection from abuse order.

Typically, this means there is an ongoing threat of abuse and the Court has stepped in to declare the child(ren) dependent and they must be removed from the abuse perpetrator’s presence.

If you have children, and are going through a divorce or separation a major thought on your mind is probably what is going to happen with the kids? Who is going to get custody? How is custody decided? What are the different types of custody schedules? These are all very valid and important questions and I know these thoughts can cause anxiety, fear and worry as well. This will give you a little overview on how custody in Pennsylvania is decided to inform you of more information and try and answer some of your questions.

There are several factors that the courts in Pennsylvania consider when deciding on custody. The standard the court uses to determine overall is the best interest of the child. The court will always consider what is in the best interest of the child when determining custody. Using the standard of the best interest of the child there are 16 factors that the court will look to when trying to determine custody. The following are the 16 factors the court will use look to:

• Which party is more likely to encourage and permit frequent and continuing contact between the child and another party.
  • They will look which parent actively promotes a relationship with the other parent. The courts do not like to see that one parent is preventing or intentionally hurting the relationship between the other parent and child.
• The present and past abuse committed by a party or member of the party’s household, whether there is a continued risk of harm to the child or an abused party and which party can better provide adequate physical safeguards and supervision of the child.
• The parental duties performed by each party on behalf of the child.
  • They will look at who takes them to school, helps with homework, schedules and takes them to doctor’s appointments. Basically what the parties do for parental duties.
• The need for stability and continuity in the child’s education, family life, and community life.
• The availability of extended family.
• The child’s sibling relationships.
• The well reasoned preference of the child.
  • Depending on the child’s age and maturity a Court may consider their opinion as part of the decision. The decision will not solely be based on the opinion or preference of the child but could be considered.
• The attempts of a parent to turn the child against the other parent, except in the cases of domestic violence where reasonable safety measures are necessary to protect the child from harm.
• Which party is more likely to maintain a loving, stable, consistent and nurturing relationship with the child adequate for the child’s emotional needs.
• Which party is more likely to attend to the daily physical, emotional, developmental, educational and special needs of the child.
• The proximity of the residences of the parties.
• Each party’s availability to care for the child or ability to make appropriate child care arrangements.
• The level of conflict between the parties and the willingness and abilities of the parties to cooperate with one another. A party’s effort to protect a child from abuse by another party is not evidence of unwillingness or inability to cooperate with that party.
• The history of drug or alcohol abuse of a party or member’s of a party’s household.
• The mental and physical condition of a party or member of party’s household.
• Any other relevant factors.
  • The Court will consider any other relevant factors in order to determine what is in the best interest of the child.

These sixteen factors are what the Court considers when determining custody of a minor child. At a hearing evidence is presented and a Judge will consider that evidence with these sixteen factors. If you find yourself in a custody situation in Bucks County and need representation please call our firm today to schedule your free consultation.

Being in an abusive relationship is very scary, stressful and difficult. You may have found yourself in an abusive relationship suffering from abuse from your partner, either physically, mentally or emotionally. If you are in an abusive relationship you can and should seek protection from the court. A Protection from Abuse order (PFA) is an order from the court that orders the abuser to have no contact with you. These orders can last anywhere up to 36 months. If you are in an abusive relationship and seek protection, a PFA is a way to get peace of mind that your abuser will stay away from you.

You may be wondering, even if you get a PFA your abuser might not follow it. What happens then? If the person you have a PFA against in any way violates any part of the order they could be found in contempt. You would want to file a contempt complaint with the court. That person would then be ordered to a hearing about the contempt where testimony could be presented regarding the particular contempt violation. The consequences for a contempt violation vary on the seriousness of the violation in particular. Those consequences range from extension of the PFA, fines, and incarceration.  by Meghan Fleming

If you are going through a situation involving the custody of your children, you may be wondering who has to pay child support. Both you and the other parent have a financial obligation to support your children. The type of custody arrangement between you and the other parent, whether by agreement or Order of the Court, will determine who pays child support. If you have a 50/50 custody schedule, then the parent that makes more money will likely be the one paying, but at a discounted rate. If you have primary custody of the child/children, then the parent who has partial custody will be obligated to pay child support. However, if the parent that has partial custody has the child overnight for more than 40% of the time (6 overnights over the course of a 14 day schedule), then the parent will be entitled to a discount of the amount of child support they have to pay. When seeking child support from the other parent it is best to get a Court Order to ensure that the payments come in. An Order from the court can provide you some assurance that the money you are relying on to help care for your children won’t suddenly disappear one day.