In Pennsylvania, a parent of a minor child may file an action for physical and/or legal custody of the child.  In certain circumstances, this right is also extended to grandparents and third parties who stand in loco parentis to the child.  Therefore, though it is presumed the parent has a right to custody, it may be forfeited if, by convincing evidence, the best interest of the child is served by awarding custody to a third party.

A person who stands in loco parentis has created a parent-like relationship to the child sufficient to warrant providing that individual the right to seek continued contact with the child.  This status can be conferred upon any third party, including, but not limited to, current or ex-spouses or partners, friends, siblings, and distant relatives.  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the case of T.B. v. L.R.M. provided a succinct definition of how a third party may establish a parent-like relationship:

“Dogs have more rights than children.”

These are the powerful, haunting words spoken by the aunt of Kayden Mancuso, a 7-year old child who was brutally bludgeoned to death by her Father, Jeffery Mancuso, on August 6, 2018, only a few short months after her Father was awarded partial, unsupervised custody pursuant to a Court Order entered May 21, 2018.  Unfortunately, Kayden’s death was not the first, nor the last, to occur at the hands of a parent where warning signs were present.  But it was Kayden’s death which spurred the introduction of SB 868, also known as “Kayden’s Law.”  In order to understand how we got here, and why changes to our law are necessary, we must review the custody analysis in Pennsylvania and how Kayden’s custody order was a legally-sound result of insufficient legislation.