Can a parent who committed abuse get parental rights and responsibilities (custody) or parent-child contact (visitation)?

Evidence of abuse and the impact of abuse on the child are only two of the factors that the judge will consider when determining parental rights and responsibilities.¹ It is important to note that for these purposes, abuse can be any one of the following:

• attempting to cause or causing you physical harm;
• placing you in fear of immediate (“imminent”) serious physical harm;
• child abuse;
• stalking (see subsection (6));
• sexual assault (see subsection (5)); or
• coercive controlling behavior.²

If the other parent has been convicted of domestic assault against you within the past 10 years or a court found that the parent committed abuse against you or a member of your family or household, then the judge can only let the abusive parent have contact with the child if protections can be put in place to keep you and the child safe.³ The judge can order any condition to keep you and the child safe, including that:

1. the exchange of the child will occur in a protected setting;
2. visitation with the child will be supervised by another person or by an agency, with the abuser paying the agency’s fee;
3. the abuser must go to counseling;
4. the abuser must stop using alcohol or drugs during the visitation and 24 hours before it begins, if alcohol or drugs were involved in the abuse;
5. the abuser cannot have overnight visits; and
6. the address of the child must be kept confidential.⁴

Note: If your child was conceived as a result of sexual assault by the other parent, there are different laws that apply. For more information, see If my child was conceived as a result of sexual assault, can the offender get parental rights and responsibilities?

¹ VT ST 15 § 665(b)(9)
² VT ST 15 § 1101(1)
³ VT ST 15 § 665a(a)
⁴ VT ST 15 § 665a(b), (c)