Parent Coordinator Training Requirements Effective July 1, 2011

Effective July 1, 2011, all Parent Coordinators in Maryland must have the following training to serve as Parent Coordinator and be appointed by the Courts:

• Minimum forty (40) hours of specialty training in Parenting Coordination; and,
• Minimum twenty (20) hours of mediation training in child access mediation.

These requirements can only be met by taking specific course(s) in:

• Accredited parent coordinator training which must include child development, research findings in divorce, domestic violence, high conflict divorce, and conflict resolution; and,
• Mediation training which meets specific criteria (20 hour child access mediation training).

The requirements are specified in a new judicial Rule passed June 6, 2011, and effective July 1, 2011.

Graduate school courses and other non-accredited courses do not count toward the 40 hours.

Psychologists who complete the training requirements specified in the Rule can complete the necessary application to be on the Circuit Court list of approved Parent Coordinators.

Judges will appoint Parent Coordinators only from approved lists compiled by each Circuit Court.

***Please Note: The Rule does not have a "grandfather clause." That is, everyone must have the required training even if they have previously been appointed by the Courts as a Parent Coordinator.

Approved Parent Coordinator Training Available August 2-3, 2011 MPA and APA are co-sponsoring a two-day, 12-hour, Core Training Program in Parenting Coordination in Washington DC on August 2 and August 3, 2011. The presenters are the best in the field and include Joan Kelly, Ph.D., Robin Deutsch, Ph.D., Matthew Sullivan, Ph.D., and Giselle Hass, Psy.D. Presentations will include recent research on divorce and high conflict, parent coordination techniques, skill-building, small-group discussion, and exercises on writing Agreements and Orders. Anyone interested in Parent Coordination should strongly consider taking this two day workshop. More information on the workshop is available here (PDF). Online registration is available, and open now!