Family Court Reform: Rep. Ted Poe Offers A Deeper Look At Child Abuse Cases

Child custody battles and court proceedings may not only be traumatic for the child, but it can also cost their lives if wrongfully approved. As much as parents would want to go against the judge's decision, it was mentioned that their family's fate is based on the psychologist's findings, but this will soon change for the better.

Hundreds if not thousands of families go through bitter custody battle each year, and there are some children that are unfortunate enough to land on an abusive parent's care. Long Island Press shared the story of the Castillo family, wherein the judge's decision was to give the parent's joint custody, where the children's father can still have unsupervised visits despite Amy's (the mother) claims that her husband Mark is not mentally stable and has physically threatened her and their children.

Despite Amy's claims, the judge's decision was based on the court-appointed psychologist, who stated that Mark can still visit their children. Less than a year after the court's decision, three of the Castillo children were found dead in a hotel bathroom after their fathered drowned them. Mark Castillo was then captured by the authorities after a failed attempt to commit suicide.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, offered a resolution, which sheds light for families that were caught up by the justice system of the family court. Poe created a movement to stand for the immediate improvement in terms of the family court cases that needs to be corrected.

Poe mentioned that child abuse cases should be thoroughly studied and investigated before moving forward with the child custody battle. Thus, there is a call for a Family Court Reform.

"Protecting our children is one of the most important things we can do for society," Poe said in his statement when the measures were discussed. "Courts should resolve all claims of abuse independently before looking at any other factors in deciding custody or visitation."

"An independent and rigorous investigation into claims of abuse, coupled with heightened evidentiary standards, will help courts prevent the endangerment of any child. It is my hope that this new resolution will provide similar encouragement," Poe added. 

The resolution is solely focused on child abuse cases prior to the custody battle for the betterment of the child and the rest of the family. ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom, did their investigation in regards to the resolution and is yet to post updates in regards to its progress.