HB 137

Family Law - Child Custody Evaluators - Qualifications

Sponsor: Aaron M. Kaufman (District 18)Committee: JudiciarySubject: Family LawStatus: Hearing 1/29 at 2:00 p.m. (as of Sep 4, 2026)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Establishing qualifications for an individual to be appointed by a court as a custody evaluator; and authorizing a court to waive certain requirements for a court employee or an individual under contract with the court under certain circumstances.

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Analysis reads the bill text, the fiscal note, and the witness list. It is generated by Claude and reviewed by nobody, so check the source documents before you rely on it.

Testimony (20)

MGA witness list

FAV 12FavorableFWA 4Favorable with amendmentsUNF 4Unfavorable

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Handley, Grant	CASA of Cecil County	Written (PDF)
FAV	Philip, Diana	Coalition to Protect Maryland's Children	Written (PDF)
FAV	Margolis, Leslielobbyist	Disability Rights Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Trescott, Sarah	Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors of MD	Written (PDF)
FAV	Murphy, JD	MD Chesapeake Chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP)	Position only
FAV	Gallo, Edward	State Council on Child Abuse and Neglect	Written (PDF)
FAV	Delegate Kaufman, Delegate Kaufmanlegislator	Individual	Oral
FAV	Houlihan, Gillian	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Kaufman, Aaron	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Kennan, Kelly	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	King, Eileen	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Krone, Christinelobbyist	Individual	Written (PDF)
UNF	Smith, Michelle	MSBA FLSC	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Vormelker, Will	Maryland Judiciary	Written (PDF)
UNF	Dickerson, Taylor	Maryland Psychological Association	Written (PDF)
UNF	Villamar, Maria Nenutzka	Office of the Public Defender	Written (PDF)
FWA	Brown-Burnett, Gloria	Department of Human Services	Written (PDF)
FWA	aichenbaum, Yaakov	PAS-Intervention MD Chapter	Written (PDF)
FWA	Bode, Claire	Individual	Written (PDF)
FWA	Krawczyk, Laurie	Individual	Written (PDF)

Organizations on record

CASA of Cecil CountyFAV 1

Coalition to Protect Maryland's ChildrenFAV 1

Department of Human ServicesFWA 1

Disability Rights MarylandFAV 1

Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors of MDFAV 1

Maryland JudiciaryUNF 1

Maryland Psychological AssociationUNF 1

MD Chesapeake Chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP)FAV 1

MSBA FLSCUNF 1

Office of the Public DefenderUNF 1

PAS-Intervention MD ChapterFWA 1

State Council on Child Abuse and NeglectFAV 1

Registered lobbyists who testified

FAVMargolis, LeslieDisability Rights MarylandRegistered for: Disability Rights Maryland

FAVKrone, ChristineRegistered for: American Coatings Association; Baltimore Gas and Electric Company; City of Rockville; Coordinating Center for Home and Community Care, The, LLC (dba The Coordinating Center); Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work, Inc.; LifeSpan Network…