While their practice areas are different, Carolina Parent Defenders and Children’s Law Center of Central North Carolina both serve low-income families facing civil matters impacting children’s well-being.
2025 Grantee Highlights: Specialized Children’s Programs
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In 2025, NC IOLTA’s Board of Trustees awarded $12M in grants to more than 40 organizations dedicated to providing legal aid to low-income residents across the state and improving the administration of justice in North Carolina.
While their practice areas are different, the two grantees highlighted here — Carolina Parent Defenders and Children’s Law Center of Central North Carolina — serve low-income families facing civil matters impacting children’s well-being. (Additional 2025 NC IOLTA grantees focused on broader practice areas related to family law are highlighted in other grantee highlights.)
Last year, these two organizations received $184,000 total in Civil Legal Aid grants, which provide basic access to the justice system for individuals, families and children residing in North Carolina. Read more about each grantee below.
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Carolina Parent Defenders is a holistic legal defense office offering free representation to parents across North Carolina who are facing investigation by Child Protective Services. Recognizing that the symptoms of poverty (for example, housing instability, food instability and access to regular medical care) may lead to involvement of Child Protective Services, the goal of representation is to deter unnecessary removal of children from their families. Modeled after successful programs in other states, CPD invests in keeping families together and promoting children’s healthy development by ensuring parents have quality representation when an investigation begins through the resolution of their case.
In 2025, CPD was awarded a $99,000 Civil Legal Aid grant to support pre-petition advocacy for low-income parents.
CPD’s legal services and advocacy work in 2025 resulted in:
Read more:
- Find highlights of other 2025 NC IOLTA grantees on our Grantees page.
- Explore the impact NC IOLTA grantees make for their clients and communities on our Stories page.
- Learn about the importance of civil legal aid on our Media Resources page under “FAQs About Civil Legal Aid in NC.”
Legislation passed by the North Carolina General Assembly on July 9, 2025, bars NC IOLTA from grantmaking from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. Consistent with the legislation, our 2026 funding cycle has not been opened.
Learn more about NC IOLTA and find our most recent updates on this issue on our Media Resources page.
The NC State Bar and NC IOLTA continue to seek a resolution to preserve funding for civil legal aid, which plays a critical role in building a legal system that works for everyone, breaking down barriers and creating strong communities across North Carolina.