Local Ordinance Will Fine Parents Who Deny Visitation

The resolution by El Paso County Commissioners is already in effect.  It was passed Monday County Commission and would fine parents who deny visitation to the custodial parent.

In a report that aired on KFOX14 Brian Stanley of the County Domestic Relations Board said that “parents who deny access” and visitation to the non-custodial parent would go to court and face a five hundred dollar fine. That’s $500 PER missed visit.

Concerns have been raised. In the comments on the KFOX story one viewer writes, “Is this only for those who have visitation rights in writing? Because what if the non-custodial parent does not have a stable living environment?”

One of the Commissioners, David Stout, made it clear that the aim is to make sure BOTH parents have the chance to spend time with their children…barring situations where the child could be in danger.

Another comment read, “Good, because it’s about time parents stop using the children to fight with their former spouse. It leads to the non-custodial parent either walking away completely or kidnapping. Kids need both parents”.

That actually brings up a really good point.  If you have a cell phone you get Amber Alerts about abducted children. Here’s an interesting statistic from the National Center for Missing Exploited Children and their 2018 AMBER Alert Report.

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“Of the 163 abductors in 2018 106 abductors had known relationships with the child”.

The majority of the abductors, 70%, are either the mother or the father. The stats also show that the non-custodial parent may recruit other family members to carry out the abduction.

When it’s something involving their children, people think differently. It may lead to outrageous behavior at a children’s baseball game or it could lead someone to abduct their child. This is what the resolution seeks to address. However, I think it may be more of a preventative measure, letting people know you may have to go to court and pay a substantial fine if you prevent the other parent from having visitation. For practical purposes, I don’t think the county and the courts would have enough resources to settle every single family spat involving the visitation of a child.

But, maybe it will help.

County Commissioner Carlos Leon will join us Friday to talk about this and other issues on the County agenda.