TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING THE PRESUMPTION THAT AN AWARD OF JOINT CUSTODY BETWEEN PARENTS IS IN A CHILD'S BEST INTEREST WHEN THERE IS DOMESTIC ABUSE.

HB 1848 amends Arkansas law concerning child custody and visitation decisions when domestic abuse is involved. It clarifies that courts must consider the effect of proven domestic abuse on a child's best interest, regardless of whether the child was physically injured or witnessed the abuse. The bill establishes a new presumption that it is not in a child's best interest to be placed in the sole custody or care of a parent found to have engaged in a pattern of domestic abuse. This parent would then have the responsibility to prove that granting them custody would not endanger the child. If unsupervised parenting time is still awarded to such a parent, the court must make specific findings about the risk of harm and may order safety conditions or domestic violence intervention programs.