For unsupervised visits, or to overcome the custodial presumption, the PSFVRA requires that a parent with a history of perpetrating domestic violence successfully complete a court-monitored domestic abuse intervention program as defined in R.S. 9:362. The program must have been completed since the last incident of abuse.1
A qualifying program and provider must meet the following standards:
- The program must be comprised of at least twenty-six in-person sessions.
- The program must follow a model designed specifically for perpetrators of domestic abuse, and must be monitored by the court.2
- The provider must have experience working directly with perpetrators and victims of domestic abuse.
- The provider must have experience facilitating batterer intervention groups.
- The provider must have training in the causes and dynamics of domestic violence, characteristics of batterers, victim safety, and sensitivity of victims.3
If a client’s abusive former partner seeks a visitation modification under this provision, the modification may be contested on multiple grounds: whether the treatment program satisfies the statutory definition, whether the facilitator/provider possesses the requisite experience and expertise, and whether there is reason to believe the treatment was successful.