A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO establish the JOINT legislative study commission on Parenting education.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  There is created the Joint Legislative Study Commission on Parenting Education. The purpose of the Commission is to review current practices relating to the provision of parenting education in the State in order to enhance parents' and parenting partners' competence and confidence to improve child‑rearing knowledge and skills.
SECTION 1.(b)  The Commission shall consist of 16 members as follows:
(1)	Three members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(2)	Three members of the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
(3)	A member of a family that is receiving parent education services appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(4)	A member of a family that is receiving parent education services appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
(5)	A family partner appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
(6)	An academic working in the field of human development and family studies, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(7)	The Director of Action for Children, or the Director's designee.
(8)	The Director of North Carolina Families United, or the Director's designee.
(9)	The Director of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, or the Director's designee.
(10)	The Director of the North Carolina Partnership for Children, or the Director's designee.
(11)	The Director of the North Carolina Parenting Education Network, or the Director's designee.
(12)	The Director of Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina, or the Director's designee.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall designate one Representative as cochair, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall designate one Senator as cochair. Vacancies on the Commission shall be filled by the same appointing authority who made the initial appointment. 
The Commission, while in the discharge of its official duties, may exercise all powers provided for under G.S. 120‑19 and G.S. 120‑19.1 through G.S. 120‑19.4. The Commission may meet at any time upon the joint call of the cochairs. The Commission may meet in the Legislative Building or the Legislative Office Building. The Commission may contract for professional, clerical, or consultant services as provided by G.S. 120‑32.02.
The Legislative Services Commission, through the Legislative Services Officer, shall assign professional staff to assist the Commission in its work. The House of Representatives' and the Senate's Supervisors of Clerks shall assign clerical staff to the Commission, and the expenses relating to the clerical employees shall be borne by the Commission. Members of the Commission shall receive subsistence and travel expenses at the rates set forth in G.S. 120‑3.1, 138‑5, or 138‑6, as appropriate.
SECTION 1.(c)  In conducting the study, the Commission shall consider issues related to parenting education including, but not limited to, the following:
(1)	Development of definitions of 'parenting education' and 'parenting educator.'
(2)	Identification of parent educator competencies, including consideration of the following models: 
a.	National Parent Education Network Rubric of Professional Development of Parent Educators;
b.	Levels of Family Involvement;
c.	National Extension Parenting Educators' Framework;
d.	National Federation of Families.
(3)	Development of a defined set of core competencies for parenting educators.
(4)	Examination of levels and specializations within a system of professional development of parenting educators.
(5)	Identification of available parenting education programs in the State and characteristics of the programs, including:
a.	Eligibility criteria for participation in programs.
b.	Context of parenting education service use in communities.
c.	Existence of collaboration or partnerships among programs.
d.	Percentage of State population served by parenting educators and percentage of those served as result of court or DSS referral.
e.	Availability and types of professional development/training opportunities for parenting educators.
f.	Existence of parenting education component within State systems.
(6)	Development of a statewide registry of credentialed parenting educators to facilitate identification of and access to qualified parenting educators for parents required to receive parenting education.
(7)	Qualifications and standards applied to parenting educators providing services in response to court orders and statistics on completion and success rates of court-ordered parenting programs.
(8)	Funding for parenting education services provided by nonprofit and other agencies, including possibility of service provision as a third party billable service.
(9)	Examination of current training resources and the possible collaboration and coordination of current training resources for all stakeholders, including family members, individuals, parenting educators, and public agencies.
(10)	Additional issues, as deemed appropriate by the Commission.
SECTION 2.  The Joint Legislative Study Commission on Parenting Education may make an interim report to the 2009 General Assembly not later than the convening of the 2010 General Assembly and shall make its final report to the 2011 General Assembly, Regular Session 2011, upon its convening. The Commission shall expire upon delivering its final report.
SECTION 3.  All State departments and agencies and local governments and their subdivisions shall furnish the Commission with any information in their possession or available to them.
SECTION 4.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the General Assembly the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for the 2009‑2010 fiscal year and the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for the 2010‑2011 fiscal year to carry out the purposes of this act.
SECTION 5.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2009.