The mother of D. M. K appeals the order terminating her parental rights, arguing that the juvenile court erred in determining that there was clear and convincing evidence 1 that the cause of D. M. K.’s deprivation was likely to continue, and 2 that continued deprivation of D. M. K. was likely to cause serious physical, emotional, mental, or moral harm. We affirm for the reasons that follow. The juvenile court conducts a two-prong analysis for determining whether parental rights should be terminated. First, the juvenile court determines “whether there is clear and convincing evidence of parental misconduct or inability as provided in OCGA § 15-11-94 b. If such is shown, then the court considers whether termination of parental rights is in the best interest of the child.”1 A finding of parental misconduct or inability requires clear and convincing evidence of the following four factors: 1 that the child is deprived; 2 that the cause of the deprivation is a lack of proper parental care or control; 3 that the cause of the deprivation is likely to continue or will not likely be remedied; and 4 that the continued deprivation is likely to cause physical, mental, emotional, or moral harm to the child.2 In reviewing a termination case on appeal,
we must determine whether, after reviewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the lower court’s judgments, any rational trier of fact could have found by clear and convincing evidence that the natural parent’s rights to custody have been lost. This Court neither weighs evidence nor determines the credibility of witnesses; rather, we defer to the trial court’s factfinding and affirm unless the appellate standard is not met.3 So viewed, the record shows that on November 16, 2005, the Tift County Department of Family and Children Services “DFCS” filed a complaint in the juvenile court regarding five-year-old D. M. K. and his seven-year-old sister, V. K., alleging that the mother’s boyfriend, Delvin English, whipped D. M. K. with a belt on November 8, 2005, and that the mother kept D. M. K. home from school for three days so that the resulting wounds could heal. The emergency intake order entered by the juvenile court on the same day stated that D. M. K. had “severe bruises, welts, and open abrasions on his back and side as a result of the punishment administered by English” that were “still very obvious and unhealed” on November 15. The order also indicated that the mother had previously lost custody of her two older children “due to continuing domestic violence and abuse to her children by her paramours.”
