In the Interest of V. D.

Summary

The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed a juvenile court order finding one-year-old V. D. deprived and awarding temporary custody to the Department of Family and Children Services. The court held that the evidence supported findings of current deprivation and parental unfitness despite the absence of specific misconduct by the father, and rejected the father's challenges to the case plan and alleged due process violation.

Holdings

1. A juvenile court may award temporary custody of a child based on present deprivation when the evidence establishes parental unfitness, including unintentional unfitness, resulting in abuse or neglect; the absence of a separate express finding directed exclusively to the father did not require reversal here.
2. The evidence was sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find present deprivation and parental unfitness by clear and convincing evidence, and the juvenile court did not err in awarding temporary custody to DFACS.
3. The father's due process claim was meritless because he did not show that he lacked notice or an opportunity to be heard, and he presented no evidence that he had requested financial assistance for travel.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the juvenile court could find the child deprived and award temporary custody to DFACS without a specific finding that the father was personally unfit.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to establish present deprivation and parental unfitness by clear and convincing evidence.
3. Whether the father's due process rights were violated because he did not attend the deprivation hearing and was not provided financial assistance for travel.

Disposition

affirmed