Dear Assembly Member, 

I am contacting you about S4510 / A5761 as a New Jersey resident, domestic abuse survivor, concerned mother, and Executive Director of Mothers Reform Child Injustices, who has gone through family court litigation and/or had children ordered to “reunification treatment”/a child safety advocate/professional title if relevant, etc. 

I urgently implore you to: 1. Vote NO on adopting the Senate amendments to S4510 / A5761 2. Retain the December 15 Assembly Judiciary amendments. 3. Protect children’s lives—not the industries that profit from their suffering. These amendments were advanced by lawyers and court-adjacent professionals who financially benefit from prolonged litigation and lucrative, unscientific “reunification treatments”, therefore also unconstitutional and present a severe financial conflict of interest. These practices have been explicitly rebuked by the U.S. Congress (Title XV, VAWA 2022) Keeping Children Safe From Family Violence, theUnited Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, and a broad consensus of qualified mental-health professionals. Several U.S. states have already banned or severely restricted these practices in direct response to Congressional directive from 2022. 

This is not theoretical harm. Children across the country have been forcibly subjected to coercive “reunification treatments” with dangerous or abusive parents, resulting in severe trauma, long-term psychological injury, and shattered trust in the adults and institutions meant to protect them. Critically, these practices are associated with increased rates of depression, self-harm, and suicidal ideation among children and adolescents. For some children, the psychological terror of being disbelieved, silenced, and forced into contact with an abuser has proven fatal. Courts should never endorse interventions that escalate suicide risk in already-vulnerable youth. 

Documented reporting: 

I Was Forced Into Reunification Therapy to Bond with My Emotionally Abusive Father. The Next 3½ Years Were Hell: https://www.typeinvestigations.org/news/2023/05/30/adult-children-parental-alienation-treatment-therapy-program-experience/

KSBW8 coverage of children violently taken to reunification camps, sparking national outrage: https://www.ksbw.com/article/public-outcry-after-2-santa-cruz-teens-were-taken-to-reunification-camp-on-viral-video/41861872

I urge you to RETAIN the Assembly Judiciary amendments adopted on December 15, 2025. These amendments comply with federal law, align with VAWA 2022, and reflect the intent of Congress as signed into law by President Biden. Unlike the June 30 Senate amendments, the Assembly version centers the child’s lived experience and voice and requires that any court-ordered intervention be demonstrably safe, ethical, trauma-informed, and beneficial for children. 

Do not be misled by industry actors attempting to codify profit-driven practices into law. These policies would not help New Jersey families. They would expose children to psychological coercion, heightened suicide risk, and irreversible harm—under the false banner of “therapy.” New Jersey must not legalize child endangerment.

Grateful for your service to New Jersey.