The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 15 : Domestic Relations

Chapter 011 : Annulment and Divorce

Subchapter 003A : CHILD CUSTODY AND SUPPORT

• § 665a. Conditions of parent-child contact in cases involving domestic violence

  (a) If within the prior ten years, one of the parents has been convicted of domestic assault or aggravated domestic assault against the other parent, or has been found to have committed abuse against a family or household member, as defined in section 1101 of this title, the court may award parent-child contact to that parent if the court finds that adequate provision can be made for the safety of the child and the parent who is a victim of domestic violence.

  (b) In a parent-child contact order issued under subsection (a) of this section, a court may:

  (1) order an exchange of a child to occur in a protected setting;

  (2) order parent-child contact supervised by another person or agency;

  (3) order the perpetrator of domestic violence to participate in, to the satisfaction of the court, a program of intervention for perpetrators, where available, or other designated counseling as a condition of the visitation;

  (4) if alcohol or drugs were involved in the domestic abuse, order the perpetrator of domestic violence to abstain from being under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances without a prescription during the visitation and for 24 hours preceding parent-child contact;

  (5) order the perpetrator of domestic violence to pay a fee to defray the costs of supervised parent-child contact, provided that the perpetrator can afford to pay the fee;

  (6) prohibit overnight parent-child contact;

  (7) impose any other condition that is deemed necessary or appropriate to provide for the safety of the child, the victim of domestic violence, or another family or household member.

  (c) Whether or not parent-child contact is allowed, the court may order the address of the child and the victim to be kept confidential.

  (d) If a court allows a family or household member to supervise parent-child contact, the court shall establish conditions to be followed during parent-child contact. (Added 2007, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 13.)