We headed down to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, after visiting the House of Coffi on a beautiful Sunday morning. Eight children and five adults, each unique in our own way. All human, all hopeful, and all longing for a better political climate.
The kids were buzzing with excitement about visiting Crust & Craft for pizza and then spending some time on the beach. A few minutes in the water, in plain clothes, brought them the kind of pure joy and contentment that cannot be fabricated.
Our children may never know how much collaboration went into making that Sunday possible, and they certainly weren't thinking about the trials of single parenthood, the sleepless nights spent worrying about custody hearings, or the tribulations of navigating the family court system.
And they shouldn't have to.
Children should never be burdened by the failures of our family court system or by the trauma of navigating a tumultuous divorce involving an abusive parent.
Too often, an abusive parent is skilled at concealing their behavior and convincing those around them that everything is fine. Children who have grown up in that environment may struggle to articulate the abuse they have experienced.
Too often, that inability to explain coercive control or other forms of covert abuse becomes a focal point of divorce proceedings rather than the warning sign it should be.
When one partner has spent years exercising control, that imbalance doesn't simply disappear when the relationship ends. It can continue through finances, communication, parenting decisions, and the legal process itself.
This is abuse. And when systems fail to recognize or address it, that abuse can continue.
The imbalance can become even more pronounced when one spouse has access to a highly paid attorney while the other relies on legal aid or represents themselves.
Victims can find themselves repeatedly carrying the burden of proving what they have experienced, while an abusive partner uses delay, conflict, and litigation to maintain control.
Why isn't this imbalance taken more seriously?
I believe we need a family court system that recognizes patterns of coercive control, psychological abuse, and domestic violence and understands how those patterns can affect a family long after a relationship ends.
We need a system where evidence is carefully considered, children's voices are taken seriously, and survivors are not forced to return to court again and again simply to seek safety and peace.
The legal system should never become another tool for an abuser to maintain control. Yet too often, victims and their children are left fighting a seemingly endless battle while the system itself unintentionally enables that cycle.
It does not have to be this way.
I believe our justice system should truly be a JUSTICE system—one that protects families, listens to survivors, and puts the safety and well-being of children first.
As your United States Senator, I will fight for federal policies that strengthen survivor protections, improve accountability, support meaningful reform of the family court system, and help ensure that families have a fair opportunity to be heard.
Every child deserves the freedom to spend a Sunday eating pizza, playing in the ocean, and simply being a kid.
Every parent deserves the opportunity to build a safe and hopeful future for their children.
I believe that together, we can work toward a system that makes that future possible.