Days ago, Albany politicians did the unthinkable: They passed a sensible piece of legislation that puts kids\u2019 needs over adults\u2019 desires.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe legislature recognizes that the safety of children is of paramount importance and is an integral element of their best interests,\u201d the bill known as Kyra\u2019s Law reads.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cTo that end, the legislature finds that judicial decisions regarding custody of, and access to, children shall promote the safety of children as a threshold issue.\u201d<\/p>\n Now it\u2019s up to Gov. Kathy Hochul <\/a>to sign it.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been 10 years since two-year-old Kyra Franchetti was shot to death by her father during a court-ordered unsupervised visit.<\/p>\n Despite warnings by the Long Island toddler\u2019s mother that her ex-husband was suicidal and was stalking her, the court approved this custody arrangement \u2014 with devastating consequences.<\/p>\n Far too many children in this country are at risk of suffering the same fate, as our courts refuse to heed flashing warning signals before they place kids in dangerous situations.<\/p>\n We tend to blame child welfare agencies for these mistakes.<\/p>\n Caseworkers may be quick to dismiss concerns about one parent\u2019s history of domestic violence or mental illness, chalking up those claims to exaggeration during nasty break-ups.<\/p>\n And agencies may prioritize keeping children with parents instead of protecting them from harm, out of some misguided sense of social justice.<\/p>\n But the truth is, judges are the ones making the final decisions about where children should be placed \u2014 and too often they\u2019re getting it wrong.<\/p>\n Just like we can\u2019t blame police for public chaos when it\u2019s judges who are the ones releasing violent criminals back onto the street hours after an arrest, we need to realize that agencies like New York City\u2019s Administration for Children\u2019s Services aren\u2019t calling all the shots when it comes to keeping dangerous adults away from vulnerable children.<\/p>\n In some cases, ACS recommendations are simply being overridden<\/a> by activist judges.<\/p>\n Too often, we\u2019re giving parents and caregivers with clear histories of domestic violence<\/a> and child abuse a chance to do kids harm.<\/p>\n Over the past two years, my colleagues and I have collected information on 5,000 child maltreatment fatalities between 2022 and 2026 in a database called Lives Cut Short.<\/p>\n Using media accounts, child welfare reports and medical examiner records, we\u2019ve seen some distinct patterns.<\/p>\n While the records are by no means exhaustive, almost 900 of the cases we\u2019ve analyzed have involved a history of domestic violence.<\/p>\n In New York state, where fatality records are easier to access than elsewhere, we found 109 cases where domestic violence by a parent or caregiver was involved.<\/p>\n