(a)  A court of this state has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this state and the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 15-14.1-16

  • Abandoned: means left without provision for reasonable and necessary care or supervision;

    (2)  "Child" means an individual who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age;

    (3)  "Child custody determination" means a judgment, decree, or other order of a court providing for the legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a child. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-14.1-2

  • Child custody proceeding: means a proceeding in which legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a child is an issue. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-14.1-2
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.

(b)  If there is no previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this chapter and a child custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction, a child custody determination made under this section remains in effect until an order is obtained from a court of a state having jurisdiction. If a child custody proceeding has not been or is not commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction, a child custody determination made under this section becomes a final determination, if it so provides and this state becomes the home state of the child.

(c)  If there is a previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this chapter, or a child custody proceeding has been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction, any order issued by a court of this state under this section must specify in the order a period that the court considers adequate to allow the person seeking an order to obtain an order from the state having jurisdiction. The order issued in this state remains in effect until an order is obtained from the other state within the period specified or the period expires.

(d)  A court of this state which has been asked to make a child custody determination under this section, upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody determination has been made by, a court of a state having jurisdiction, shall immediately communicate with the other court. A court of this state which is exercising jurisdiction, upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody determination has been made by, a court of another state under a statute similar to this section shall immediately communicate with the court of that state to resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and determine a period for the duration of the temporary order.

History of Section.
P.L. 2003, ch. 307, § 2; P.L. 2003, ch. 322, § 2.