Finding that minor child was deprived, reversed; no clear and convincing evidence showed that mother was unfit to care for child; evidence that child was wearing only diaper during summer day, lack of variety of food in home, physical discipline of child, and dirty home did not support finding that child had been or would be harmed; additionally, no evidence showed that mother’s failure to accept support services harmed child.

In the Interest of J.H., A11A0125 (07/01/11)

Fulton County Daily Report, July 22, 2011

Order terminating children’s father’s parental rights, affirmed, as children were deprived, father was unable to provide proper care for children, deprivation was likely to continue and termination was in children’s best interest; after being granted unsupervised visitation with children, father beat one child with belt on child’s buttocks, legs and thighs resulting in child’s hospitalization, father was arrested for child cruelty, and when asked about incident by juvenile court, he exercised Fifth Amendment rights; father had cognitive problems that affected his ability to parent and to implement skills learned in parenting classes and counseling, he had history of anger management problems, engaged in angry outburst in telephone call with evaluating psychologist, admitted to physically disciplining one child in connection with toilet training and displayed anger in regards to one child’s toilet training.

In the Interest of T. P., A11A0304 (07/08/11)

Fulton County Daily Report, July 29, 2011

Termination of mother’s parental rights to her child, affirmed; clear and convincing evidence authorized juvenile court to rule that child’s deprivation was likely to continue and was likely to harm him; mother gave birth to child in prison, she was without home of her own and unable to provide housing for child, she was unemployed and unable to provide for child’s financial needs, and she suffered from mental health problems for which she allegedly failed to take her medicine; mother also failed to bond with child and did not contact child or DFACS for 16 months that he was in DFACS custody; termination of mother’s parental rights was in child’s best interest, since there was testimony regarding bonding of child with his foster parents, who wished to adopt him, and danger of foster care drift, if permanency was not established.

In the Interest of A. E. S., A11A0692 (07/07/11)

Fulton County Daily Report, July 29, 2011

Dismissal of deprivation complaint, affirmed, as juvenile court acted within discretion in finding that there were no reasonable grounds to find that minor was deprived; minor tested positive twice for Chlamydia but mother and step-father tested negative for disease; mother was cooperating with investigation; minor had not been exposed to disease through penetration, and case manager testified that DFACS did not believe minor was in any immediate danger of harm within home.

In the Interest of J. F., A11A0538 (07/13/11)

Fulton County Daily Report, July 29, 2011

Termination of mother’s parental rights to her three children, AFFIRMED, as evidence supported it; mother had history of displaying bizarre, paranoid behavior, she stopped taking her prescribed medication and skipped her mental health appointments, she failed to clean her home, she provided no evidence of employment or ability to pay monthly living expenses, she failed to pay child support and she failed to maintain bond with her children.

In the Interest of S.P., A09A15 (11/12/09)

From:  Fulton County Daily Report  (12/4/ 2009)

Termination of father’s parental rights, AFFIRMED, as evidence supported it; father never contacted children nor DFACS during his 5-year incarceration, he failed to maintain or establish meaningful bond with children, essentially abandoning them and, even before his incarceration, he only saw children sporadically, despite his purported concern that mother abused drugs; continued deprivation was likely to cause harm due to children’s emotional and psychological frailty and termination was in children’s best interest.

In the Interest of T.L.H. and O.D.H., A09A1177

From:  Fulton County Daily Report, 12/4/2009

Deprivation order AFFIRMED as evidence supported it; mother repeatedly subjected children to unwarranted and unnecessary forensic interviews and medical exams in her unsuccessful attempts to substantiate sexual abuse by their father.

In the Interest of S.K. and A.K., A09A1357 (11/13/09)

From:  Fulton County Daily Report (12/4/2009)

GA orders granting sole custody of son to mother and sole custody of daughter to father, AFFIRMED;  mother’s contention that juvenile court erred in denying motion for reunification was meritless, since juvenile court sustained motion for reunification; juvenile court was authorized to find material change in circumstances because mother had suffered decline in mental health; juvenile court did not abuse discretion by determining that it was in daugher’s best interest to live with father, despite father’s acts of family violence; juvenile court did not err in denying mother’s discovery requests as untimely, because re-trial order required all discovery to be filed by 30 days after order and mother waited until almost nie moths later to file motion to compel discovery.

In the Interest of T.S. & L.S., A09A1294 (11/05/09)

From:  Fulton County Daily Report (12/4/2009)

Termination of mother and father’s parental rights and award of custody to DHR, AFFIRMED, juvenile court did not lack jurisdiction to proceed with dispostional hearing, even though parents executed voluntary surrender in favor of maternal great-grandparents on September 15, 2008, since juvenile court’s order, wich was not filed until September 17, 2008, clearly stated that it was nunc pro tunc to September 3, 2008, date of termination hearing; juvenile court did not abuse its discretion in treating great-grandparents’ ages as dispositive factor in dispositional hearing, because juvenile’s court’s duty to consider best interest of child gives court discretion to consider many factors and evidence showed that DHR recommended foster family for child’s long-term placement and child had developed attchements to family.

In the Interest of D.C.H., A09A1557 (11/06/09)

From:  Fulton County Daily Report, 12/4/2009

Order finding child deprived AFFIRMED as evidence supported it; evidence showed that then 5-month-old infant was sexually abused while she was solely in care of her mother and father and mother failed to protect infant from injury.

IN THE INTEREST OF K.L., (a09a1449 (10/21/09)

From:  Fulton County Daily Report (11/06/2009)