Opinion ID: 1913746
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Continued Counseling Permitted

Text: In another related argument, the Mother contends that the Family Court violated Delaware law by failing to require the abuser to complete the counseling prior to placing the child in this environment. Section 707A provides: If the Court awards sole or joint custody or primary residence to a parent who has a history of committing acts of domestic violence, that parent shall be ordered to complete a program of evaluation and counseling designed specifically for perpetrators of family violence and conducted by a public or private agency or a certified mental health professional. [16] This provision unambiguously states that if the Family Court awards primary placement to a parent who has a history of committing acts of domestic violence, the parent shall be ordered to complete a program.... The Mother contends that statute requires the completion of counseling prior to placement. In making that argument, the Mother has conflated the requirements of section 705A (individuals found to be perpetrators of domestic violence) and section 707A (individuals found to have a history of committing acts of domestic violence.). Under section 705A, a rebuttable presumption exists that a person who is a perpetrator of domestic violence shall not be awarded sole or joint custody or primary residence. To overcome that presumption, inter alia, there must have been no further acts of domestic violence and the perpetrator of domestic violence has: (1) successfully completed a program of evaluation and counseling designed specifically for perpetrators of family violence and conducted by a public or private agency or a certified mental health professional.... [17] Title 13, section 707A requires that, when the Family Court awards primary residence to an individual with a history of committing acts of domestic violence, that parent shall be ordered to complete a program of evaluation and counseling designed specifically for perpetrators of family violence and conducted by a public or private agency or a certified mental health professional. [18] Completed counseling is a condition precedent to rebutting the presumption found in section 705A, which applies to individuals found to be perpetrators of domestic violence. On the other hand, section 707A, which instead applies to persons with a history of committing acts of domestic violence, does not require the counseling to be completed prior to placement. [19] Therefore, the Family Court did not err as a matter of law in applying section 707A and awarding primary placement to the Father before he had completed the counseling program.