Petition to Protect Kids in Family Court

[tinytherese]

https://chng.it/4mKN6kRnwg

Governor Newsom, Please SIGN Piqui's LAW (SB 331 Rubio)

Started

September 16, 2023

Why this petition matters

Started by Sandy Ross

Dear Governor Gavin Newsom,

I respectfully urge you to sign SB 331 (Rubio) Piqui's Law: Keeping Children Safe From Family Violence Act.  SB 331 will protect victims of domestic violence and child abuse by enhancing child safety measures in family court. Piqui’s Law, once enacted will (1) ensure that critical training content is established for judges and other professionals involved in domestic violence and child custody matters, (2) that reporting requirements are established for training completed by judges, and (3) highly traumatic, unregulated, reunification treatment programs, known as camps, will be prohibited.

Piqui’s Law is named after a 5-year-old boy who was murdered by his father on April 21, 2017. Ana Estevez, the mother of Piqui, fought hard in the California family court system to protect her child from her abusive ex-husband and father of Piqui. Despite her efforts, the family court refused to implement appropriate safety measures, which led to her son’s tragic death. In one hearing, law enforcement officers were denied the opportunity to present testimony regarding  Piqui's abuse. Without hearing their testimony, the Judge stated the evidence to be presented would focus on child custody, not abuse.  

Everyday, children are being placed into unsafe relationships with dangerous parents because of uninformed family court decisions. Children, like Piqui, continue to be brutally murdered in the context of divorce and separation cases. Since Piqui's preventable death, at least 41 additional California children have been killed, with 13 of those murders reported since November 2021, according to the Center for Judicial Excellence. 

Enacting Piqui’s Law will have an immediate positive impact, especially for children like Maya and Sebastian from Santa Cruz. These children were abruptly and violently removed by transport agents, cut off from a loving father, family, friends, and their community to be forced into a highly traumatic, unproven reunification treatment, known as a camp. These highly lucrative, unregulated programs yield program operators from $14,000 to $40,000 for a four-day program. Piqui’s law will close the “sales funnel” and end the use of this barbaric practice. 

The California Board of Psychology stands in support of Piqui’s Law, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur urges California to be an example for states and beyond by enacting Piqui's Law.  For these reasons, Governor Newsom, I respectfully request your signature on SB 331- Piqui's Law. This change is long overdue.  Now is the time to strengthen California laws to protect victims and children in family court.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

#TheWholeWorldisWatching

 

[dUSt]

Signed!