FOURTH DIVISION DILLARD, P. J., MERCIER, J., and SENIOR JUDGE FULLER
NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be physically received in our clerk’s office within ten days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed. https://www.gaappeals.us/rules
October 31, 2025
In the Court of Appeals of Georgia A25A0879, A25A2149. IN THE INTEREST OF H. J., A CHILD (FATHER). A25A1106, A25A2162. IN THE INTEREST OF H. J., A CHILD (MOTHER).
FULLER, Senior Judge.
These four companion appeals arise from dependency proceedings concerning
the parents’ medically fragile child, H. J., who has been continuously hospitalized
since his premature birth in December 2023. In Cases No. A25A0879 and A25A1106,
respectively, the father and the mother each appeal an order entered by the juvenile
court finding probable cause to believe that H. J. was dependent following a
preliminary protective hearing (PPH), and the mother also appeals the initial ex parte
removal order. In Cases No. A25A2149 and A25A2162, respectively, the father and
the mother appeal the juvenile court’s dependency adjudication order, and the mother appeals the juvenile court’s denial of her motions to dismiss. For the following
reasons, we dismiss Cases No. A25A0879 and A25A1106 as moot, and affirm the
juvenile court’s dependency adjudication and rulings on the motions to dismiss in
Cases No. A25A2149 and A25A2162.
On appeal from an order finding a child to be a dependent child, we review the juvenile court’s finding of dependency in the light most favorable to the lower court’s judgment to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found by clear and convincing evidence that the child is dependent. In making this determination we neither weigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of the witnesses, but instead defer to the factual findings made by the juvenile court, bearing in mind that the juvenile court’s primary responsibility is to consider and protect the welfare of a child whose well-being is threatened.
In the Interest of R. D., 346 Ga. App. 257, 259 (1) (816 SE2d 132) (2018) (punctuation
and footnote omitted).
Removal. So viewed, the record shows H. J. was born at twenty-three weeks’
gestation on December 9, 2023, weighing only one pound, following delivery in a car
by the mother, who received no prenatal care. Due to his extreme prematurity and
resulting medical fragility, H. J. has required continuous hospitalization since birth,
2 and in April 2024, he was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Scottish Rite Hospital (CHOA).
The current proceedings began on July 25, 2024, after the hospital reported
medical neglect concerns to the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS),
citing the staff’s inability to contact the parents for several days to obtain consent for
a tracheostomy procedure to address a life-threatening respiratory condition. The
need to contact the parents was critical because, although H. J. was then too unstable
to survive surgery, the procedure would need to occur quickly once his condition
stabilized.
Despite the urgency of H. J.’s condition, the parents had not returned to visit
H. J. since July 21, 2024, and CHOA staff indicated that the parents had only seen
H. J. three times in over 100 days. On those occasions, the parents would stay for
approximately two hours before the mother disappeared; the father would then go to
look for the mother, but neither returned. During their visits, hospital staff had been
unable to communicate with the mother “due to her being ‘spaced out.’”
As a result of these circumstances, DFCS filed a dependency complaint on July
26, 2024, seeking custody of H. J. due to a lack of “proper parental care or control as
3 required by law and necessary for his physical, mental, and emotional health.” That
same day, the juvenile court issued an ex parte removal order placing H. J. in DFCS’s
temporary legal custody after finding “probable cause to believe [H. J.] is dependent
due to neglect and abandonment by the parents.”
Preliminary Protective Hearing (PPH). A contested PPH was held on August 7,
2024. In addition to confirming the facts in support of DFCS’s dependency
complaint, a DFCS investigator testified that the parents did not reside at the address
they initially provided and he had been unable to determine where they resided. The
investigator added that H. J.’s siblings previously had been removed from the parents’
home due to the parents’ ongoing substance abuse and instability issues. Furthermore,
the investigator noted that the parents had not called the hospital to check on H. J.’s
status.
A DFCS administrator testified that the mother tested positive for
amphetamines at H. J.’s birth, and H. J. tested positive for amphetamines and
methamphetamines at birth. A guardianship over H. J.’s siblings, which was put in
place after their removal from the parents’ home, was finalized just 11 days after
H. J.’s birth. Following the hearing, the juvenile court entered an order finding
4 probable cause for dependency existed based on prenatal drug exposure, lack of
prenatal care, minimal visitation, unavailability for medical consent, and the prior
sibling case. The parents’ appeals in Cases No. A25A0879 and A25A1106 followed.1
Pretrial motions. During the proceedings, the mother executed a power of
attorney designating H. J.’s maternal grandmother as a medical proxy. At a September
13, 2024 status conference, the mother orally moved to dismiss the dependency
petition, arguing that H. J. was not dependent because he was hospitalized and
receiving appropriate medical treatment, and therefore not subject to neglect. The
juvenile court declined to rule on the mother’s oral motion, instead indicating that the
mother should file a written motion. The mother later filed a written motion to
dismiss and for immediate return of custody, arguing that the power of attorney
resolved the dependency and divested the court of jurisdiction. The juvenile court
ultimately denied that motion.
1 Inasmuch as the juvenile court’s order addressed the parents’ custody of H. J., we have jurisdiction to consider these appeals. See, e.g., In the Interest of S. J., 270 Ga. App. 598, 607-08 (1) (a) & (b) (607 SE2d 225) (2004). 5 Adjudication of Dependency. DFCS filed a petition for dependency, and the
juvenile court held a multi-day adjudication hearing in October 2024. Relevant to its
finding of dependency, the juvenile court relied upon the following evidence:
(a) Dr. Munir Kapasi. Dr. Kapasi, an expert witness in neonatology who treated
H. J., testified that H. J. was born prematurely and he suffered a “premature lung”
that was subject to scarring from being on mechanical ventilation. H. J. suffered severe
complications related to his premature birth; he had difficulty feeding and required
high sedation to keep him stable on the ventilator. Dr. Kapasi observed that H. J. was
“very, very sick” and had been on maximum support with mechanical ventilation and
oxygenation.
Dr. Kapasi stated that H. J. would benefit from having skin-to-skin contact with
his parents and that he had left voicemail messages for the father indicating that H. J.
liked to be held, but he was aware of only three occasions when the parents had visited
H. J. over the course of five months. On one occasion, Dr. Kapasi had to insert an
arterial line for H. J., and he attempted to contact the father to obtain consent for the
procedure, but received no response.2 Dr. Kapasi noted several situations where he
2 Dr. Kapasi relied upon consent for a prior arterial line he received from the parents in order to perform the procedure. 6 was unsure H. J. would survive the night, and yet he was unable to get in touch with
the parents. Dr. Kapasi also stated that the parents could visit H. J. twenty-four hours
a day, except when there was a shift change for the nurses.
Dr. Kapasi added that H. J. needed a tracheostomy, but that he was not stable
enough to survive the procedure. Dr. Kapasi testified that H. J. needed the procedure
to be able to go home and that the parents would need at least 12 to 16 weeks of
training in order to properly care for H. J. H. J. would also have a feeding tube and a
ventilator at home.
(b) Dr. Patrick Keenum. Dr. Keenum, an expert in neonatal intensive care,
reinforced Dr. Kapasi’s testimony, explaining that H. J.’s condition had improved
slightly but that he was still very sick. He also stressed the necessity of parental
involvement, stating, “I simply need a partner who’s going to be informed upon
[H. J.] and make decisions in [his] best interests,” especially as H. J.’s condition had
been so severe that he would have discussed “withdrawal of care” had the parents
been available. Dr. Keenum noted that his own contact with the parents was minimal,
as he had only spoken with the parents on three occasions, and his voicemails to the
father went unreturned.
7 Dr. Keenum hoped that H. J. could improve enough to be stable for a
tracheostomy, and if the procedure went well, H. J. would need a different feeding
tube within two to three weeks thereafter. In addition, after the tracheostomy, the
parents would need 12 to 16 weeks of intensive training, for approximately 20 hours
per week, to properly manage H. J.’s care at home. Although hospital staff would
normally begin “hands-on” training at the hospital, the parents had not been present
to participate in H. J.’s care. Some of the “hands-on” steps the parents could take
that would be beneficial for H. J. included simply holding H. J. to calm him and
moving him in order to improve his lung function.
(c) Jessica Porter. Porter, a licensed social worker at CHOA, testified that the
parents had visited H. J. four times between his arrival at CHOA on April 11, 2024 and
September 3, 2024, and that the visits lasted no more than thirty minutes each, even
though the parents could have visitation at almost any time. Although the father was
initially available for telephone calls, his responsiveness “tapered off” after the first
two weeks of H. J.’s hospitalization at CHOA, to the point that Porter was unable to
reach either parent. Porter added that CHOA was able to provide transportation
assistance to the parents, but the parents never took advantage of that assistance.
8 Porter explained that the parents’ lack of responsiveness, coupled with the limited
visits, caused concerns about the parents’ ability to care for H. J. upon discharge, as
the necessary medical training required multiple visits to the hospital weekly.
(d) Jazzett Carr. Carr, a DFCS case manager, confirmed that the parents had
only visited H. J. four times since his arrival at CHOA and were largely unreachable
by DFCS. She testified that she offered transportation assistance to the mother on two
occasions, but the mother declined. Carr identified DFCS’s primary concerns as the
inability to contact the parents for medical consent, their minimal visitation, and their
failure to participate in the required pre-release training for H. J.’s complex medical
care. She also confirmed that H. J.’s siblings had been placed in permanent
guardianships due to the parents’ unresolved substance abuse issues in a prior
dependency case, and she had been unable to verify if the parents had completed any
substance abuse or mental health treatment since then.
(e) The Father. The father testified that he pleaded guilty to felony drug
possession in early 2024 and received three years’ probation. A required substance
abuse assessment had not been completed as of the October 2024 hearing, nor had he
9 participated in any treatment, despite acknowledging that treatment was required in
the prior dependency case involving H. J.’s siblings. The father added that he was
living with his mother — not H. J.’s mother — and was having trouble obtaining his
driver’s license. The father confirmed visiting H. J. only four times since April 2024,
attributing this to lack of transportation, although he admitted he was aware CHOA
offered transportation options but did not request assistance. He also confirmed that
the mother had a driver’s license, but that she had also been unable to visit H. J. due
to her schedule and outpatient appointments.
(f) The Mother. The mother testified that she previously pleaded guilty to a drug
possession charge and that, as part of her sentence, she was required to complete a
mental health evaluation, a substance abuse evaluation, and 40 hours of community
service. She reported attending substance abuse treatment several hours a day. As a
result of her treatment, the mother had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder,
borderline personality disorder, OCD, PTSD, clinical depression, and generalized
anxiety. She indicated that she would sometimes receive mental health sessions in
addition to her substance abuse treatment.
10 Like the father, the mother acknowledged that she had only visited H. J. four
times at CHOA, compared to three times a week when he had been hospitalized in the
prior facility, claiming that she could not visit more due to a lack of transportation and
her anxiety about highway driving. However, she admitted that a CHOA social worker
had offered transportation options, including a non-emergency bus service and ride-
sharing services.3 She disputed testimony that the hospital could not reach her,
claiming she provided her number twice but received no calls, and confirmed
executing the power of attorney for her mother to make medical decisions only if the
parents were unreachable.4
(g) Emily Bowen. Bowen, the health information manager for a local substance
abuse treatment center, testified that there was no record of attendance for the mother
since June 25, 2024.
3 While the mother indicated she could not ride a bus due to her social anxiety, she did testify that she would “totally do” a ride-sharing service. 4 The mother executed the power of attorney three days before the adjudication hearing. We do not consider the effectiveness of the power of attorney. 11 Following the hearing, the juvenile court adjudicated H. J. dependent as to both
parents. This order and the rulings on the pretrial motions to dismiss are the subject
of the parents’ appeals in Cases No. A25A2149 and A25A2162.
1. The pretrial orders.
In Cases No. A25A0879 and A25A1106, the parents argue that the juvenile
court erroneously determined that there was probable cause to find H. J. dependent
following the PPH. In the mother’s appeal, she also argues that the juvenile court
erred by admitting the siblings’ dependency as evidence at the PPH and by
concluding, upon its initial ex parte review, that removal was necessary. However, the
juvenile court’s subsequent adjudication of dependency moots the parents’ arguments
concerning the initial removal order and PPH. See Beavers v. Provost, 304 Ga. 841,
842–43 (822 SE2d 257) (2018) (holding that a subsequent adjudication and disposition
order supersedes and moots challenges to an initial removal order); In the Interest of
C. E., 366 Ga. App. 612, 617-18 (1) (884 SE2d 22) (2023) (noting that challenge to
PPH was moot following an adjudication of dependency). Accordingly, the appeals in
Cases No. A25A0879 and A25A1106 are dismissed. See OCGA § 5-6-48(b)(3).
12 2. The adjudication order.
In Cases No. A25A2149 and A25A2162, the parents argue that the juvenile
court committed several errors by adjudicating H. J. dependent. We address each
claim in turn.
Relevant to this case, a “dependent child” is defined as a child who either
“[h]as been abused or neglected and is in need of the protection of the court . . . or . . .
[i]s without . . . her parent, guardian, or legal custodian.” OCGA § 15-11-2(22).
“Abuse” includes prenatal abuse, see OCGA § 15-11-2(2)(D), which is itself
pertinently defined as “exposure to . . . the unlawful use of any controlled substance
. . . which results in . . . the presence of a controlled substance or a metabolite thereof
in a newborn’s body, blood, urine, or meconium that is not the result of medical
treatment[.]” OCGA § 15-11-2(56)(A). And as applicable in this case, “neglect”
means “[t]he failure to provide necessary parental care or control, subsistence,
education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for a child’s physical,
mental, or emotional health or safety[.]” OCGA § 15-11-2(48)(A).
(a) The father and mother argue that the juvenile court erred by finding present
dependency because H. J. has been well-cared for in the NICU since his birth, the
13 parents agreed to ongoing medical treatment, and the mother signed a power of
attorney designating another individual to make medical decisions for H. J. in the
event they could not be reached. These arguments fundamentally misapprehend the
nature of Georgia’s dependency law.
Our precedent demonstrates that the dependency inquiry centers on the
parents’ fitness and conduct, not the child’s temporary location or the quality of care
provided by a third party. See In the Interest of A. B., 289 Ga. App. 655, 656 (658 SE2d
205) (2008) (explaining that the relevant inquiry is whether the parents were incapable
for caring for the child, not whether the child’s grandmother who had “been pressed
into service” was doing a good job). Crucially, present dependency can be shown by
evidence that the child would be dependent if returned to the parent’s care at the time
of the hearing. See In the Interest of P. D. W., 296 Ga. App. 189, 192 (1) (a) (674 SE2d
338) (2009).
Applying these principles, clear and convincing evidence supports the juvenile
court’s finding of present dependency rooted in parental unfitness. Expert testimony
underscored the critical, present need for parental bonding, participation, and
completion of extensive medical training for H. J.’s survival and development —
14 needs the parents demonstrably failed to meet through their profound lack of
visitation and engagement essential for both bonding and learning H. J.’s critical care
needs. This constitutes a present failure to provide necessary care and demonstrates
that H. J. would be dependent if returned to his parents’ care, thereby supporting the
finding of present dependency. See In the Interest of D. Q., 307 Ga. App. 121, 125 (704
SE2d 444) (2010) (affirming findings of dependency, then termed deprivation, based,
in part, on the “special medical needs” of the children and their “parents’ inability
to provide for those needs”).
(b) The mother also argues that there was no clear and convincing evidence of
parental unfitness, or that return to the mother’s custody would be contrary to H. J.’s
welfare. We disagree.
To justify even a temporary removal of custody from a parent following a
dependency adjudication, the dependency must be shown by clear and convincing
evidence to have resulted “from unfitness on the part of the parent, that is, either
intentional or unintentional misconduct resulting in the abuse or neglect of the child
or by what is tantamount to physical or mental incapability to care for the child.” In
the Interest of T. S., 348 Ga. App. 263, 269 (820 SE2d 773) (2018) (citation and
15 punctuation omitted). Furthermore, any order continuing placement outside the
parent’s physical custody requires a finding that returning the child to the parents
“would be contrary to his or her welfare.” OCGA § 15-11-134(b).
Here, the record demonstrates, and the juvenile court found, clear and
convincing evidence of both misconduct resulting in abuse and present incapability.
The evidence established that H. J. suffered prenatal abuse, having been born positive
for amphetamines and methamphetamines due to the mother’s prenatal drug use. See
OCGA § 15-11-2(56) (defining prenatal abuse). This misconduct alone provides
sufficient evidence of unfitness. See OCGA § 15-11-2(2)(D) (defining abuse as, inter
alia, prenatal abuse). Additionally, the evidence showed a present incapability to care
for the child, stemming from the parents’ admitted recent drug possession
convictions, their failure to complete required substance abuse treatment, their
profound lack of visitation with their critically ill child, and their failure to begin the
mandatory medical training essential for H. J.’s complex care. Given this clear and
convincing evidence of present unfitness, the juvenile court properly concluded that
returning legal custody, which entails the responsibility to exercise parental duties,
would be contrary to H. J.’s welfare. See In the Interest of M. L. G., 170 Ga. App. 642,
16 646-47 (317 SE2d 881) (1984) (explaining that the parents’ inability to provide the
special care required by the child’s peculiar medical condition demonstrated their
unfitness and that child’s dependency was likely to continue).
(c) The mother next contends that the juvenile court abused its discretion when
it found the need for continued removal and that DFCS had made reasonable efforts
to prevent continued removal. We discern no error.
The mother contends that removal from the home was unnecessary to prevent
neglect or abuse because H. J. has never resided with her, given that he has been
hospitalized his entire life. See OCGA § 15-11-133 (providing circumstances under
which a child “may be removed from his or her home”). However, as addressed
above, present dependency may be proved “by showing that, if the child were
returned to the [parent] at the time of the hearing, . . . [the child] would be
[dependent].” In the Interest of P. D. W., 296 Ga. App. at 192 (1) (a). And as held
previously, the juvenile court found by clear and convincing evidence that the mother
lacked the necessary training to care for H. J.’s medical issues. This finding means
H. J. would be dependent if placed in the mother’s care at the time of the hearing.
17 Therefore, continuing the removal of legal custody from the mother was necessary
regardless of H. J.’s physical presence in the hospital.
The mother also alleges that the juvenile court failed to consider the availability
of reasonable alternatives prior to removing H. J., in accordance with OCGA § 15-11-
133(g).5 However, the adjudication order details DFCS’s efforts to consider
reasonable alternatives to removal, in particular, by engaging with hospital staff to
ensure that H. J.’s needs are met, and by offering transportation so the parents could
visit with H. J.
(d) Finally, the mother argues that the adjudication order contained insufficient
findings of fact and conclusions of law.6 As pertinent here, she asserts that the findings
5 OCGA § 15-11-133(g) requires in pertinent part that “prior to authorizing the removal of a child from his or her home . . . the court shall consider whether there are reasonable alternatives to the removal of the child and placement of the child in foster care[.]” 6 We deem abandoned the mother’s conclusory assertion that the juvenile court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law in its order regarding the September 13, 2024 status review hearing and the order regarding the October 3, 2024 motions hearing were “ambiguous, inaccurate, and lacking in establishing the basis for the juvenile court’s rulings,” and therefore “ineffective.” See Ga. Ct. App. R. 25(d)(1) (“Any enumeration of error that is not supported in the brief by citation of authority or argument may be deemed abandoned.”); In re Estate of Burkhalter, 354 Ga. App. 231, 237 (2) (a) (840 SE2d 614) (2020) (finding argument abandoned where appellant “failed to provide a discernable argument to support his bare assertion” that the 18 “were not individualized for [her] in this particular situation specifically with H. J.
being found dependent based on abandonment due to substance use, mental health
issues, and H. J.’s medical needs.” This argument is belied by the court’s nine-page
order which contains detailed findings of fact derived from the testimony of each key
witness, including that the parents have only visited H. J. four times within six months
for a total of no more than two hours, with the longest visit lasting approximately
thirty minutes; that the parents have failed to begin learning how to care for H. J.’s
medical needs and lack reliable transportation; and that the parents have failed to
communicate with hospital staff since H. J. was transferred to the NICU. In addition,
the order explicitly finds dependency by clear and convincing evidence, and explains
how the parents’ lack of medical training, stability, and communication prevent them
from visiting the child and learning how to care for him. This detailed recitation is
legally sufficient.
3. The mother’s motions to dismiss.
court’s findings were unsupported by evidence). 19 The mother argues in Case No. A25A2162 that the juvenile court erred by
failing to grant her motions to dismiss. Pretermitting whether these claims are moot
in light of the adjudication order, they are without merit.
The juvenile court did not err by failing to grant the oral motion to dismiss.
Uniform Juvenile Court Rule 9.3 requires pretrial motions to be “made in writing . . .
before the hearing at which the motion will be considered, unless otherwise permitted
by the court.” The court did not err by failing to grant a motion that was not in the
proper form. See In the Interest of C. W., 345 Ga. App. 750, 752 (815 SE2d 123) (2018)
(reversing grant of oral motion to dismiss as the motion was not in the proper form,
as required by former Uniform Juvenile Court Rule 7.9, which is now Rule 9.3).
The juvenile court also did not err by denying the written motion to dismiss,
which argued that the power of attorney resolved the dependency and divested the
court of jurisdiction. As established above, the dependency inquiry focuses on overall
parental fitness. While the power of attorney addressed the discrete issue of medical
consent, it did not remedy the broader, underlying issues of parental unfitness
stemming from the mother’s profound disengagement with H. J., her lack of
20 communication with H. J.’s medical team, her instability, or her failure to undertake
the necessary medical training. Accordingly, this argument is without merit.
Judgments affirmed in Cases No. A25A2149 and A25A2162. Appeals dismissed as
moot in Cases No. A25A0879 and A25A1106. Dillard, P. J., and Mercier, J., concur.