Parent Education Program
About
Session Law 1999-237 House Bill 168 Section 17.16 authorized the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) to establish an educational program for parents who are parties to a custody or visitation action and to administer any parent education though family court programs that were established by Section 25 of Session Law 1998-202.
Parent education programs make divorcing parents or parents living in separate homes aware of the needs of their children during and after the divorce process and when children are parented in separate homes. Court-sponsored parent education programs incorporate a video entitled The Most Important Job (Spanish version) that provides guidance for parents from professionals as well as from the child's perspective.
The most common models for parent education in North Carolina are:
- A free booklet and 45-minute online presentation which provides guidance for parents from professionals as well as from the child’s perspective – SEE BELOW;
- A one-hour parent information session presented in-person by family court staff following the custody mediation orientation session; or
- A four-hour parent education class taught by local professionals from the community who have been selected by local district court leadership to provide this service.
Family court districts provide this type of education locally according to their local rules. Non-family court district courts may also offer parent education according to their own local rules.
North Carolina Parent Education Program
Please participate when you can focus without distraction. To complete North Carolina's court-sponsored parent education program, please (1) view the handbook, (2) watch the presentation, and then (3) submit the verification form online. After you complete and submit the form, the court will be notified that you have completed this training. You will also receive an email copy of the verification form that you have submitted for your records. The entire process will take approximately 40 minutes.
The Access and Visitation Program is grant-funded by DHHS and managed by the NCAOC to help connect non-custodial parents to their children. It includes coordinators in many of the districts who offer counseling and direct parents to local resources.