What is the standard for awarding custody of a minor child to a non-parent?

Civil Code section 4600, subdivision (c), currently expresses the doctrine as follows: "Before the court makes any order awarding custody to a person or persons other than a parent, without the consent of the parents, it shall make a finding that an award of custody to a parent would be detrimental to the child and the award to a nonparent is required to serve the best interests of the child." The doctrine as expressed in section 4600 is not limited in application to dissolution proceedings, but extends to "any proceeding where there is at issue the custody of a minor child" ( 4600, subd. (a)), thereby meeting the need for a uniform standard. (In re B.G. (1974) 11 Cal.3d 679, 696, 114 Cal.Rptr. 444, 523 P.2d 244.) Stated otherwise, "a court must award physical custody of a minor to a parent, if fit to exercise custody, as against a stranger." (Id., at pp. 693-694, 114 Cal.Rptr. 444, 523 P.2d 244; emphasis added.) The doctrine, if applicable to the instant proceeding, thus accords fully with the constitutional requirements of Stanley v. Illinois, supra, 405 U.S. 645, 92 S.Ct. 1208, 31 L.Ed.2d 551.

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