LI mom's campaign led to 'Kyra's Law' to protect kids

ALBANY — It took about 10 rewrites, lots of shoe leather and government meetings and a push at the last possible moment, but state lawmakers finally passed a bill called "Kyra’s Law," that could change how judges determine custody and visitation rights when there is evidence of potential harm to a child.

The bill takes its name from the tragedy of Kyra Franchetti, a 2-year-old who authorities said was killed in a murder-suicide by her father. It came from the tireless work of her mother, Jacqueline Franchetti, of Manhasset, who made untold numbers of visits to the State Capitol, met with more than 100 state legislators and propelled a lobbying campaign from Long Island.

The Senate passed the legislation on June 4, its final day before adjourning for the summer. The Assembly followed suit last Friday, its final day before adjourning.

"This is such a game-changing legislation that New Yorkers have been crying out for, for decades," Franchetti told Newsday. "I’ve carried Kyra’s voice for 10 years. ... But on Friday, the legislators carried Kyra’s voice to the finish line."

Since Kyra’s murder in 2016, Franchetti has championed a bill that would compel judges to consider allegations of domestic violence or child abuse in custody and visitation proceedings — in sum, to make it the top priority.

Legal experts and even the state Office of Court Administration said initial drafts of the legislation were rife with legal problems, especially on whether the bill would greenlight third-party "hearsay" allegations and potentially false allegations that couldn’t be refuted.

After numerous rewrites over the years — including four this year — Sen. James Skoufis, who steered the bill along with Assemb. Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills), said they arrived at a version that survived scrutiny.

"It was an excruciating number of hours putting it together — negotiations, many meetings, many bill drafts," Skoufis (D-Cornwall) told Newsday. "And we got it done in the nick of time."

Emphasis on safety

The bill contains several elements, including judicial training, but the main take-away, Skoufis said, is "whereas child safety was mixed in with all the other priorities in a custody case, now it has risen above and beyond any other priority."

Over the years, it ran into opposition because, some said, earlier versions were too vague and could have opened the door to "hearsay" — essentially unverified information received from a third party. Another issue was "imminent" danger, which can be a high legal standard to verify, lawmakers and officials said.

"This not only creates the potential for a floodgate of false claims, but could result in true victims of abuse being subject to restricted rights to the child and/or the abused child being placed in peril," Lee Rosenberg, a Garden City lawyer and past chair of the Nassau County Bar Association Matrimonial Law Committee, wrote in a Newsday op-ed in 2023.

The difference was made, Skoufis said, by switching to language that compels the court to review "competent, material and relevant" evidence, and "facially credible" allegations of child abuse or domestic violence that are "posing substantial risk" — instead of imminent. He said those changes answered OCA’s objections.

Unanimous vote

With that, the Senate passed it 60-0; the Assembly, 131-0.

Now, it will be up to Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign or veto it by Dec. 31. The governor typically doesn’t comment on pending legislation.

Rosenberg said in an email: "It is certainly better than how it was initially presented. The issue is going to be how it is going to be implemented in actual practice."

Over the years, the failure of the bill to gain traction was "devastating," Franchetti said. She was sitting at the back of the Assembly chamber last Friday when the unanimous vote was announced.

"It was a very emotional day. It was monumental," she said, tearing up. "There are so many people who desperately need this."

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy