Working with Child Deprivation Cases in Georgia's Juvenile Courts

V. Filing of a Deprivation Petition

A. WHEN MUST THE PETITION BE FILED?

In cases where the juvenile court intake officer has released the child into the custody of his/her parents, a deprivation petition has to be filed with the court within thirty days of the child's release if DFCS wishes to pursue the case further. O.C.G.A. § 15-11-21(b). If the child was not released either by the intake officer after the child's removal or the juvenile court judge in the 72-hour hearing, a deprivation petition must be submitted within five days of that hearing. O.C.G.A. § 15-11-21(e). The petition may have already been filed with the court if the child has previously been taken into protective custody. O.C.G.A. § 15-11-26(d).

The filing of the petition starts the time table for the scheduling of the formal adjudicatory hearing on the merits of the deprivation petition. This period is shortened considerably when the child is removed from the home. If the child is removed from the home, the adjudicatory hearing must be held within 10 days after the filing of the petition. If the child was released to his parents, the hearing must be held within 60 days of the filing of the deprivation petition. O.C.G.A. § 15-11-26(a). With five days to file a petition and ten days thereafter to hold an adjudicatory hearing, a possibility exists of at most a fifteen day wait between the 72-hour informal detention hearing and the adjudicatory hearing on the petition. This contrasts considerably with the potential ninety day wait in cases where the intake officer and/or the juvenile court judge determined that the child's detention was not warranted. In addition, a judge has the power to grant a continuance in such a proceeding for good cause. URJC, 11.3.

In all proceedings over which the juvenile court has jurisdiction (including deprivation cases), proceedings can only be initiated upon receipt of a written complaint form, or a petition. URJC, 4.1. The intake officer does not have the authority to refuse a complaint, which only the judge can do. URJC, 4.1. However, the intake officer must screen the complaint before a petition is filed and make a recommendation to the court for:

1. Dismissal;
2. A referral to another agency for services;
3. Approval to file a petition, or "other appropriate action".

URJC, 4.2.

In screening the complaint, the intake officer should consider:

1. Whether the complaint is one over which the court has jurisdiction;
2. . Whether the complaint is frivolous;
3. Whether the child should be detained pending a hearing, and if so where;
4. Whether the child should be diverted to an agency that meets his or her needs; and
5. If a petition should be filed with the court.

URJC, 4.2.