Title 15

(a) In the event of the disqualification, illness, or absence of the judge of the juvenile court, the judge of the juvenile court may appoint any member of the State Bar of Georgia who is resident in the judicial circuit in which the court lies and has practiced law for five years,…

(a) The judge of the juvenile court shall have the authority to appoint clerks and any other personnel necessary for the execution of the purposes of this chapter. (b) The salary, tenure, compensation, and all other conditions of employment of such employees shall be fixed by the …

(a) Each clerk of the juvenile court shall collect the following information for each child in need of services, delinquent child, and child accused of a class A designated felony act or class B designated felony act and provide such information to DJJ as frequently as requested …

(a) Any person who is appointed as or is performing the duties of a clerk of the juvenile court shall satisfactorily complete 20 hours of training in the performance of the duties of a clerk of the juvenile court within the first 12 months following such appointment or the first pe…

(a) The judge may appoint one or more probation and intake officers. (b) The salaries of the probation and intake officers shall be fixed by the judge with the approval of the governing authority of the county or counties for which he or she is appointed and shall be payable from …

(a) A county juvenile probation officer or DJJ staff member serving as a juvenile probation officer or community supervision officer, as appropriate: (1) Shall make investigations, reports, and recommendations to the court as directed by this chapter; (2) Shall supervise and assi…

(a) A juvenile court intake officer: (1) Shall receive and examine complaints and charges of delinquency, of dependency, or that a child is a child in need of services for the purpose of considering the commencement of proceedings under this chapter; (2) Shall make appropriate re…

(a) The probation and intake services of the juvenile court of each county may be transferred to and become a part of the state-wide juvenile and intake services and be fully funded through DJJ. The probation and intake officers of juvenile courts of those counties whose probatio…

(a)(1) As used in this subsection, the term ‘‘risk and needs assessment’’ means an actuarial tool, approved by the Council of Accountability Court Judges of Georgia and validated on a targeted population, scientifically proven to determine an individual’s risk to recidivate and to…

The purpose of this article is: (1) To assist and protect children whose physical or mental health and welfare is substantially at risk of harm from abuse, neglect, or exploitation and who may be further threatened by the conduct of others by providing for the resolution of depen…

A proceeding under this article shall not be subject to this article to the extent that it is governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act, P.L. 95-608, as amended, Chapter 21 of Title 25 of the United States Code. In those circumstances, compliance with such federal law shall be req…

(a) If necessary, the investigator of a report of child abuse and neglect may apply to the court for certain medical examinations and evaluations of a child or other children in the household. (b) Upon a showing of probable cause in an affidavit executed by the applicant, the cou…

(a) A preliminary protective hearing shall be held promptly and no later than 72 hours after a child is placed in foster care, provided that, if the 72 hour time frame expires on a weekend or legal holiday, such hearing shall be held on the next day which is not a weekend or lega…

(a) A child and any other party to a proceeding under this article shall have the right to an attorney at all stages of the proceedings under this article. (b) The court shall appoint an attorney for an alleged dependent child. The appointment shall be made as soon as practicable…

(a) The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for an alleged dependent child. (b) An attorney for an alleged dependent child may serve as such child’s guardian ad litem unless or until there is conflict of interest between the attorney’s duty to such child as such child’s attorn…

(a) A guardian ad litem shall advocate for a child’s best interests in the proceeding for which the guardian ad litem has been appointed. (b) In determining a child’s best interests, a guardian ad litem shall consider and evaluate all of the factors affecting the best interests o…

(a)(1) Before executing duties as a CASA, and upon completion of all the requirements of an affiliate court appointed special advocate program, a CASA shall be sworn in by a judge of the juvenile court in the court or circuit in which he or she wishes to serve. A CASA shall not b…

(a) A parent, guardian, or legal custodian’s reliance on prayer or other religious nonmedical means for healing in lieu of medical care, in the exercise of religious beliefs, shall not be the sole basis for considering his or her child to be a dependent child; provided, however, …

(a) The court shall give to all parties written notice of the date, time, place, and purpose of the following postadjudication hearings or reviews: (1) Nonreunification hearings; (2) Disposition hearings; (3) Periodic review hearings; (4) Periodic reviews by judicial citizen revie…

(a) In advance of each hearing or review, DFCS shall give written notice of the date, time, place, and purpose of the review or hearing, including the right to be heard, to the caregiver of a child, the foster parent of a child, any preadoptive parent, or any relative providing c…

(a) Upon request of an attorney for a party, the court may continue any hearing under this article beyond the time limit within which the hearing is otherwise required to be held; provided, however, that no continuance shall be granted that is contrary to the interests of the chi…

(a) At any hearing held with respect to a child, the court in its discretion, and based upon the evidence, may enter an order: (1) Accepting or rejecting any DFCS report; (2) Ordering an additional evaluation; or (3) Undertaking such other review as it deems necessary and appropr…

(a) When a child is removed from his or her home, the court shall order reasonable visitation that is consistent with the age and developmental needs of a child if the court finds that it is in a child’s best interests. The court’s order shall specify the frequency, duration, and …

When a child is alleged to be a dependent child, the date such child is considered to have entered foster care shall be the date of the first judicial finding that such child has been subjected to child abuse or neglect or the date that is 60 days after the date on which such child…

(a) A proceeding under this article may be commenced: (1) In the county in which a child legally resides; or (2) In the county in which a child is present when the proceeding is commenced if such child is present without his or her parent, guardian, or legal custodian or the acts…

(a) Notwithstanding Code Sections 15-11-133 and 15-11-135, DFCS shall be authorized to provide emergency care and supervision to any child without seeking a court order for a period not to exceed seven days when: (1)(A) As a result of an emergency or illness, the person who has p…

A law enforcement officer or agency or DFCS shall refer any child suspected of being a victim of sexual exploitation or trafficking under Code Section 16-5-46 to an available victim assistance organization, as certified by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council pursuant to Code…

(a) Notwithstanding Code Section 15-11-133, a physician licensed to practice medicine in this state who is treating a child may take or retain temporary protective custody of such child, without a court order and without the consent of his or her parent, guardian, or legal custod…

(a) The facts supporting the issuance of an order of removal may be relayed orally, including telephonically, to the judge or a designated juvenile court intake officer, and the order directing that a child be taken into custody may be issued orally or electronically. (b) When a …

(a) A child may be removed from his or her home, without the consent of his or her parents, guardian, or legal custodian: (1) Pursuant to an order of the court under this article; or (2) By a law enforcement officer or duly authorized officer of the court if: (A) A child is in im…

(a) Temporary alternatives to foster care may be ordered by the court ex parte, prior to a preliminary protective hearing, or may be ordered following a preliminary protective hearing. A temporary alternative to foster care may include one or more of the following: (1) A temporar…

(a) Any order authorizing the removal of a child from his or her home shall be based on a finding by the court that continuation in his or her home would be contrary to his or her welfare. (b) Any order continuing a child’s placement outside of the physical custody of his or her p…

(a) A child taken into custody shall not be placed in foster care prior to the hearing on a petition for dependency unless: (1) Foster care is required to protect the child; (2) The child has no parent, guardian, or legal custodian or other person able to provide supervision and …

(a) If an alleged dependent child is removed from his or her home and is not returned home, the preliminary protective hearing shall be held promptly and not later than 72 hours after such child is placed in foster care; provided, however, that if the 72 hour time frame expires o…

(a) At the preliminary protective hearing, the court shall determine: (1) Whether there is probable cause to believe a child is a dependent child; and (2) Whether protective custody of a child is necessary to prevent abuse or neglect pending the hearing on the dependency petition…

A DFCS employee, a law enforcement officer, or any person who has actual knowledge of the abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a child or is informed of the abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a child that he or she believes to be truthful may make a petition alleging dependency. Such…

(a) If a child was removed from his or her home, a petition alleging dependency shall be filed within five days of the preliminary protective hearing. (b) If a child was not removed from his or her home or if a child was removed from his or her home but was released from protective…

A petition alleging dependency shall be verified and may rely on information and belief and shall set forth plainly and with particularity: (1) The facts which bring a child within the jurisdiction of the court, with a statement that it is in the best interests of the child and th…

(a) The petitioner may amend the petition alleging dependency at any time: (1) To cure defects of form; and (2) Prior to the adjudication hearing, to include new allegations of fact or requests for adjudication. (b) When the petition is amended after the initial service to includ…

(a) The court shall direct the issuance of a summons to a child if such child is 14 years of age or older, such child’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian, such child’s attorney, such child’s guardian ad litem, if any, and any other persons who appear to the court to be proper …

(a) If a party to be served with a summons is within this state and can be found, the summons shall be served upon him or her personally as soon as possible and at least 72 hours before the adjudication hearing. (b) If a party to be served is within this state and cannot be found…

(a) In the event a parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child named in a petition alleging dependency is brought willfully fails to appear personally at a hearing after being ordered to so appear or willfully fails to bring such child to a hearing after being so directed, th…

(a) If service of summons upon a party is made by publication, the court may conduct a provisional hearing upon the allegations of the petition alleging dependency and enter an interlocutory order of disposition if: (1) The petition alleges dependency of a child; (2) The summons …

(a) In all cases under this article, any party shall, upon written request to the party having actual custody, control, or possession of the material to be produced, have full access to the following for inspection, copying, or photographing: (1) The names and telephone numbers o…

The petitioner shall have the burden of proving the allegations of a dependency petition by clear and convincing evidence. History. — Code 1981, § 15-11-180, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 1-1/HB 242.

(a) The court shall fix a time for an adjudication hearing. If the alleged dependent child is in foster care, the hearing shall be scheduled for no later than ten days after the filing of the petition alleging dependency. If the alleged dependent child is not in foster care, but th…