Plan to train Utah judges on domestic violence taking shape under new child custody law
Sep 18, 2024, 7:03 PM | Updated: 7:07 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah judges making child custody decisions must put kids’ safety first under a new state law, and now they’re set to get extra training on family violence so they can meet the mandate.
Representatives from Utah’s court system gave a broad outline of the training plan to lawmakers Wednesday at the state Capitol, telling a panel focused on the courts that judges, commissioners and other court staff are gearing up to learn more.
“They’re always open to new ideas, they’re always open to new resources that help them better understand the cases that come before them,” state court administrator Ron Gordon told KSL after making a brief presentation to the Judiciary Interim Committee.
The first training session is scheduled for November and the rest will roll out over the next two years. Gordon didn’t say how much time will be required of each employee.
The 2024 measure known as “Om’s Law” required the courts to come up with the training plan. The reform came after a similar move in Colorado and followed KSL’s reporting on Utah’s family court system.
The law’s named for Om Moses Gandhi, a 16-year-old Salt Lake City boy at the center of a child custody battle that had dragged on for more than a decade as his mother tried to call the court’s attention to violence by her ex-husband. Om was shot and killed in 2023 by his father Parth Gandhi, who police said then took his own life.
Om’s mother, Leah Moses, successfully advocated for the changes she says would likely have saved her son’s life. Moses received a standing ovation from the Utah Senate in March when it gave final passage to the measure.
“Looking back into the past is really difficult for me,” Moses told KSL Wednesday at the Capitol. “But right now is an opportunity for us all to look forward to the future and to help children who are in the thick of things right now.”
The training will review physical, sexual and emotional abuse and their effects on children, along with trauma and coercive control (patterns of behavior meant to hurt, scare or isolate another person that can end in homicide). Among the other topics: common behaviors of victims and their perpetrators.
Training will range from basic reviews to in-depth sessions, Gordon and other state court officials said in a memo to lawmakers ahead of the meeting. It’ll be led by both local and national trainers, including the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
Moses said she believes the extra education will be monumental. It’s not just judges and court staff who’ll take part, she said, but also evaluators and attorneys who work directly with children and have a critical role in their safety.
“We’re at the beginning of a really exciting change,” Moses said.
The courts estimate the program’s cost at $160,000, which includes a planned multi-day conference in late 2025 or early 2026 along with a new role at the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition. Gordon said grants may cover some or all of the cost.
The courts plan to measure their progress using focus groups, surveys and an audit.
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