Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act

The Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act addresses the risk that a child will be wrongfully removed from or retained outside a jurisdiction in violation of custody rights, and it gives courts a way to intervene before that happens rather than only after. A party or, in some circumstances, a court acting on its own may seek an abduction prevention order; the act sets out what such a petition must contain, which court may hear it, and the risk factors a court weighs in deciding whether a credible risk of abduction exists. Where the court finds such a risk, it may impose protective measures — including conditions on travel and the surrender of travel documents — and, where abduction appears imminent, issue an ex parte warrant directing that physical custody of the child be taken, with these remedies supplementing rather than displacing other available relief.

Editorial summary generated from the text of this act. It is not part of the statute — read the sections below for the operative language.