Governor Signs Interstate Law on Child Custody
Gov. George Deukmejian has signed legislation sponsored by John Seymour (R-Anaheim) that prohibits a parent who abducts a child from seeking custody in another state.
Under the legislation, only if both parents are present and have a birth certificate can they seek to gain custody of a child abducted from California. Court-sanctioned custody orders that do not meet the new guidelines will no longer be recognized in California.
“This bill is an attempt to reduce the high number of child abductions,” Seymour said after the governor signed the measure Wednesday. The bill was inspired by the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center in Orange, a private foundation that tracks missing children.
Pam Harris Oedekerk, the center’s assistant director, said the bill would eliminate “dual and conflicting court orders” that arise when one parent obtains court-sanctioned custody in another state.
“This happens a lot more often than people realize, probably in about 10% of all child-stealing cases,” she said.
Seymour said FBI statistics indicate there are 39,700 active missing-child cases in the United States, including about 2,500 in California.
Harris Oedekerk said there are an estimated 300 parental abduction cases in Orange County each year.
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