The Uniform
Child-Custody
Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act
Patricia M. Hoff
Introduction
Legal Background
Rationale Underlying
the UCCJEA
UCCJEA Highlights
Applicability of the
UCCJEA
Jurisdictional Provisions of the UCCJEA
Duty To Enforce Under the UCCJEA
Conclusion
For Further Information
Bibliography
Endnotes
NCJ 189181
This Bulletin was prepared under grant number
92–MC–CX–0007 from the Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department
of Justice.
Points of view or opinions expressed in this
document are those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the official position or
policies of OJJDP or the U.S. Department of
Justice.
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention is a component of the Office
of Justice Programs, which also includes
the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau
of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of
Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime.
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A Message From OJJDP
America is a society with a substantial
divorce rate. Each year, more
than 1,000,000 children in the United
States are affected by the divorce of
their parents, and of all children who
are born to married parents this year,
half are likely to experience a divorce
in their families before they reach
their 18th birthdays.
America is also a highly mobile society.
On the dissolution of family ties, it
is not uncommon that a parent, perhaps
even both parents, may move
out of the State in which the family
resided at the time of their separation.
Thus, it is not surprising that
courts in different States are becoming
involved in child-custody and visitation
disputes concerning the same
children.
The Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction
and Enforcement Act, which is
described in this Bulletin, has been
proposed by the National Conference
of Commissioners on Uniform State
Laws. The proposed uniform State
law is designed to deter interstate
parental kidnapping and to promote
uniform jurisdiction and enforcement
provisions in interstate child-custody
and visitation cases. The Act has
been enacted by 25 States and the
District of Columbia and introduced
into legislatures in several other
States.
It is our hope that the information
provided in this Bulletin will assist
those considering the adoption of
this model law in their States.
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