Albany acts to rescue kids from deadly abuse 10 years too late

Days ago, Albany politicians did the unthinkable: They passed a sensible piece of legislation that puts kids’ needs over adults’ desires.“The legislature recognizes that the safety of children is of paramount importance and is an integral element of their best interests,” the bill known as Kyra’s Law reads.“To that end, the legislature finds that judicial decisions regarding custody of, and access to, children shall promote the safety of children as a threshold issue.”Now it’s up to Gov.Kathy Hochul to sign it.It’s been 10 years since two-year-old Kyra Franchetti was shot to death by her father during a court-ordered unsupervised visit.Despite warnings by the Long Island toddler’s mother that her ex-husband was suicidal and was stalking her, the court approved this custody arrangement — with devastating consequences.Far too many children in this country are at risk of suffering the same fate, as our courts refuse to heed flashing warning signals before they place kids in dangerous situations.We tend to blame child welfare agencies for these mistakes.Caseworkers may be quick to dismiss concerns about one parent’s history of domestic violence or mental illness, chalking up those claims to exaggeration during nasty break-ups.And agencies may prioritize keeping children with parents instead of protecting them from harm, out of some misguided sense of social justice.But the truth is, judges are the ones making the final decisions about where children should be placed — and too often they’re getting it wrong.Just like we can’t blame police for public chaos when it’s judges who are the ones releasing violent criminals back onto the street hours after an arrest, we need to realize that agencies like New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services aren’t calling all the shots when it comes to keeping dangerous adults away from vulnerable children.In some cases, ACS recommendations are simply being overridden by activist judges.To...