Civil
Child Custody Order – An Alternative Disposition
A new statute allows juvenile court to
enter a civil child custody order and then transfer jurisdiction of the care
to regular domestic court. For questions, contact Deana Fleming, Associate
Counsel, NC GAL Program, 919-789-3634. This statute will be reviewed at the
August 2nd in-service training, “Legal Permanency.” The
following is an excerpt from the training manual:
In
cases where children have been removed from one parent’s home and the other
parent (or another suitable person) is competent and willing to provide care
for their child(ren), the case can be transferred to civil district court,
where the vast majority of civil custody cases are decided.
Juvenile (GAL) court can be the venue for awarding custody to a
non-offending parent or another appropriate custodian due to abuse, neglect
or dependency. However, when juvenile court’s jurisdiction is no longer
needed to ensure the juvenile’s safety, it can pass the case to civil
district court, as allowed under MCGS 7B-911.
