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Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina requires judges, mediators, and court-referred professionals in child custody cases to complete domestic violence and trauma training
Last action · May 7, 2025: Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate (Senate action)Sponsors: Erin Paré and 18 others
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What This Bill Would Do
North Carolina House Bill 896 requires judges, magistrates, guardian ad litems, mediators, parent coordinators, and reunification professionals involved in child custody proceedings to complete specialized training on domestic violence, child abuse, and trauma. The program requires an initial 20-hour training session followed by at least 15 hours of ongoing training every five years, effective October 1, 2025.
Court personnel and professionals handling family law disputes must complete mandatory education on abuse dynamics and trauma before participating in custody proceedings.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Judges and Magistrates
Judges and magistrates who hear child custody proceedings must complete an initial 20-hour training program and 15 hours of ongoing training every five years.
Court Personnel and Mediators
Guardian ad litems, mediators, parent coordinators, and reunification treatment professionals must complete the mandated trauma and abuse training.
Minor Children and Families in Custody Proceedings
Custody proceedings will involve court personnel who have completed specialized training on domestic violence, child abuse, and trauma.
Key Facts
- Mandates that any judge, magistrate, or judicial officer hearing child custody proceedings, along with court personnel like guardian ad litems, mediators, parent coordinators, and reunification professionals, complete a specialized training program.
- The training program must consist of an initial session of at least 20 hours and not less than 15 hours of ongoing training every five years.
- Training topics must include domestic and sexual violence, child sexual abuse, physical and emotional abuse, coercive control, implicit and explicit bias, trauma, and long- and short-term impacts on minor children.
- Curriculum must include scientific-based research such as the Duluth model, Saunders study, and Adverse Childhood Experiences study.
Show all 8 facts
- The training must be provided by a professional with substantial experience in assisting survivors of domestic violence or child abuse, including a victim service provider defined in 34 U.S.C. § 12291.
- Prohibits training from including any theories, concepts, or belief systems unsupported by the specified evidence-based and peer-reviewed research.
- The Administrative Office of the Courts or an appropriate State agency must apply to the United States Attorney General's Office for federal grant support under the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022.
- The act becomes effective on October 1, 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is required to take the training under Jesse's Law?
How many hours of training are required?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
14 actions- May 7, 2025SenateRef To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
- May 7, 2025SenatePassed 1st Reading
- May 7, 2025SenateSpecial Message Received From House
- May 7, 2025HouseSpecial Message Sent To Senate
- May 7, 2025HousePassed 3rd Reading
- May 7, 2025HousePassed 2nd Reading
Show 8 earlier actions
- May 6, 2025HousePlaced On Cal For 05/07/2025
- May 6, 2025HouseCal Pursuant Rule 36(b)
- May 6, 2025HouseReptd Fav
- May 6, 2025HouseRe-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- May 6, 2025HouseReptd Fav Com Substitute
- Apr 14, 2025HouseRef to the Com on Judiciary 2, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 14, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
- Apr 10, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 14 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Trauma Training for Family Court Personnel
The bill shifts court standards by requiring specific, evidence-based training on domestic violence and child abuse for all personnel and judicial officers handling child custody cases.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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