Parent Coordination

Parent Coordinators are specially trained attorneys or mental health professionals who are appointed by a judge in a high conflict custody case, usually after the trial of the case. PCs (as they are known) are given the authority to help implement the judge’s order so that the parties do not keep going back to court to resolve small issues.

A PC may help resolve scheduling conflicts when one party has family come in from out of town unexpectedly. Or a PC may make a decision on which middle school a child will attend, or whether a child is old enough or mature enough to stay home alone after school, or whether a child should be allowed to get a piercing or a tattoo.

Often, a parent simply needs to have a quick decision made on a particular issue, and he or she is relieved that the PC can make that decision, even if the decision doesn’t favor him or her. A quick decision also helps keep small issues from growing into bigger ones. And because PCs can act quickly on small issues, the cost to each party, both financially and emotionally, is less.

PCs also try to help parties communicate with each other in new and more healthy ways. It is often hard to break old patterns and to trust when one has been hurt, but PCs can sometimes do this delicate work that courts do not have the time, skill, or training to handle.

In North Carolina, PCs are required to have 24 hours of training and to regularly meet with their peers to discuss and share methods and techniques which have worked for them. North Carolina also has a statute governing the appointment and role of PCs.