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Survivors, psychologists and foster parents offer stark testimony in support of SB 12-57
Summary
Multiple witnesses told the Judiciary & Rules Committee that mandatory in-person visits with substantiated abusers retraumatize children; psychologists and foster parents urged SB 12-57 to allow courts to pause in-person visitation and protect child safety, while at least one former foster youth warned of reunification risks.
A broad slate of witnesses described the emotional and behavioral harms they associate with mandatory in-person visitation in substantiated-abuse cases and urged support for SB 12-57.
Dr. Kylie Billingsley, a licensed child psychologist and foster parent, testified that forced visits can produce severe trauma responses — night terrors, self-harm, and attachment disturbances — and asked lawmakers to keep child safety central. "Forcing a child to maintain contact with an abuser...shapes the child's identity, brain, and understanding of safety itself," she said. Survivors and foster parents described repeated instances where children deteriorated around visits and stabilized when contact paused. Opponents, including Samantha Moore, acknowledged trauma but cautioned that broad statutory emphasis could have unintended effects on reunification and disproportionately affect marginalized families.
