Legislation

Welcome to the National Resource Center on Military-Connected Families and Courts online resources page! On this page, you will find many of the resources used throughout our work, as well as bench cards, fact sheets, evaluation tools, and much more. We hope you will find many of the resources helpful in your work. If you would like to add a resource to the page, please contact us here.

Servicemembers Civil Rights Act (SCRA)

The SCRA covers all active duty service members, reservists, and members of the National Guard while on active duty. The protection begins on the date of entering active duty and generally terminates within 30 to 90 days after discharge. The SCRA can postpone or suspend financial or civil obligations to prevent you from being taken advantage of while on active duty and away from home. It covers issues such as rental agreements, security deposits, prepaid rent, evictions, installment contracts, credit card interest rates, mortgage interest rates, mortgage foreclosures, civil judicial proceedings, automobile leases, life insurance, health insurance, and income tax payments.

• Military and Veterans State Legislation Database. Retrieved March 12, 2019
• Servicemembers Civil Rights Act (SCRA). Retrieved March 12, 2019
• ​SCRA: Servicemembers Civil Rights Act Overview. Retrieved January 15, 2015
• Sullivan, M.E. (n.d.) A Judge’s Guide to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Retrieved February 10, 2015
• Sullivan, M.E. (n.d) The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act: A Guide for Family Law Attorneys. Retrieved February 10, 2015
• Sullivan, M.E. (2014) Military Custody and Visitation: Problems and Solutions in the Twenty-First Century. Family Court Review, 52, 355-370
• The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center & School, U.S. Army, JA 260. (2006, March) Servicemembers Civil Act. Retrieved February 10, 2015
• U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. (n.d.) Protecting the Civil Rights of Servicemembers. Retrieved February 20, 2015
• U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. (2013, March) Restrictions on Possession of Firearms by Individuals Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence. Retrieved March 13, 2019
• U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. (2015, Feb.) Service Members to Receive Over $123  Million for Unlawful Foreclosures Under the Servicemembers Civil Rights Act. Retrieved February 15, 2015
• Official Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) website. Retrieved March 12, 2019

Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA)

The UCCJEA governs state courts’ jurisdiction to make and modify “child-custody determinations,” a term that expressly includes custody and visitation orders. The UCCJEA requires state courts to enforce valid child-custody and visitation determinations made by sister state courts. It also establishes innovative interstate enforcement procedures. The UCCJEA is designed to deter interstate parental kidnapping and promote uniform jurisdiction and enforcement provisions in interstate child custody and visitation cases.

• Hoff, P.M. (2001, December) The Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Retrieved March 13, 2019
• National Center on Protection Orders and Full Faith & Credit. (n.d.) Interstate Child Custody: A Practitioner’s Guide to the Uniform Child Custody and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). Retrieved March 13, 2019

Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act (UDPCVA)

The UDPCVA includes a wide variety of provisions that protect a service member’s right to child custody. This act is specific to military parents deployed for longer than the SCRA stay period of 90 days, but fewer than 18 months. Perhaps the most notable provision of the UDPCVA is that one parent cannot use a service member’s deployment as the sole factor for the determination of legal custody.

• National Conference of State Legislatures. (2018, September) Military Parent Custody and Visitation. Retrieved March 13, 2019

Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)

The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) is a contract among all 50 states for providing protection and support services for children moved between states for birth parent unification or reunification when the court has jurisdiction over the child. The ICPC ensures that the sending agency or individual does not lose jurisdiction over the child once the child moves to the receiving state.

• National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the American Public Human Services Association. (2001, February) The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children: A Manual and Instructional Guide for Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Retrieved March 13, 2019
• The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children State Pages. (2012) Retrieved March 13, 2019
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Child Welfare Information Gateway. (n.d.) Interstate Compact on Placement of Children and Interjurisdictional Placements. Retrieved March 13, 2019

Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)

The UCMJ defines the military justice system and lists criminal offenses under military law. The law requires the president of the United States to write rules and regulations to implement military law, including detailed rules and regulations for military court-martials, and provides for maximum punishments for each military offense listed in the punitive articles of the UCMJ.

• Uniform Code of Military Justice. (2006 – 2019) Retrieved March 13, 2019

The statements and positions contained within these resources do not represent official positions of the NCJFCJ, or the State Justice Institute, and are solely those of the author or authoring organizations. For more information on the NCJFCJ’s policies and positions, please review the official NCJFCJ Resolution Regarding Judicial Education on Military Issues here.