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<section article="gfl" article_name="Family Law" number="9-101.3" title_number="9" title_name="Child Custody and Visitation" subtitle_number="1" subtitle_name="In General">
  <level label="a">
    <level label="1">
      <text>In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Child abuse” has the meaning stated in § 5–701 of this article.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>“Domestic violence” has the meaning stated in § 4–701 of this article.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>The Maryland Judiciary, in consultation with domestic violence and child abuse organizations, shall develop and update as appropriate a training program for judges and magistrates presiding over child custody cases involving child abuse or domestic violence.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>The training program described under subsection (b) of this section shall include training on:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>the typical brain development of infants and children;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>the impact of adverse childhood experiences, trauma, complex trauma, and chronic toxic stress on a child’s brain development and the ways that a child’s response to trauma varies;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>the process for investigating a report of suspected child abuse or child sexual abuse, including:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>the role of child advocacy centers and forensic interviews;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>the role of local departments of social services in investigating reports of suspected child abuse and child sexual abuse; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>that child abuse and child sexual abuse may have occurred even without an indicated finding of abuse, any physical evidence of abuse, or a verbal disclosure of abuse by the child;</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>the dynamics and effects of child sexual abuse, including grooming behaviors and the disclosure of child sexual abuse;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>the dynamics and effects of physical and emotional child abuse;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="6">
      <text>the dynamics and effects of domestic violence, including coercive control, and that domestic violence can occur without a party seeking or obtaining a protective order or without documented evidence of abuse;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="7">
      <text>the impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and the importance of considering the impact of exposure to domestic violence on children when making child custody and visitation decisions;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="8">
      <text>the potential impacts of explicit and implicit bias on child custody decisions;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="9">
      <text>best practices to ensure that reasonable and feasible protective measures are taken to reduce the risk of traumatizing or retraumatizing a child through the court process, including available methods to obtain relevant information without the necessity of repeated, detailed testimony from the child;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="10">
      <text>available protections for families, including the sealing of records;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="11">
      <text>the benefits and limitations of sexual offender evaluations and risk assessments;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="12">
      <text>the tools courts can use to assess the credibility of a child witness;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="13">
      <text>standards for the knowledge, experience, and qualifications of child sexual abuse evaluators and treatment providers; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="14">
      <text>any other relevant subject matter.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>The Maryland Judiciary shall adopt procedures, including the uniform screening of initial pleadings, to identify child custody cases that may involve child abuse or domestic violence as soon as possible to ensure that only judges who have received training under this section are assigned those cases.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <text>Within a judge’s first year of presiding over child custody cases involving child abuse or domestic violence, the judge shall receive at least 20 hours of initial training approved by the Maryland Judiciary that meets the requirements of subsection (c) of this section.</text>
  </level>
</section>
