Appellant K. H., the biological mother of S. N. H., appeals from the orders terminating her parental rights to the child and denying her amended motion for new trial. Appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the termination. She also contends that her trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance and that the juvenile court erred in taking judicial notice of matters in prior deprivation proceedings. Finding no error, we affirm. On appeal from an order terminating parental rights, 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.1 Viewed in the light most favorable to the termination order, the record shows that S. N. H. was born on November 16, 2005, and appellant was evicted from her home in April 2006, when S. N. H. was five months old. Because appellant was homeless and unable to care for the child, she sought assistance from the Gwinnett County Department of Family and Children Services “DFACS”. DFACS provided temporary shelter for appellant and S. N. H., but when offered additional housing, appellant declined the offer. In July, appellant returned to DFACS to give up the child, stating that she was “tired of dealing” with the situation and “wanted her life back.” DFACS filed a deprivation petition on July 17, 2006, and the juvenile court held an emergency hearing. In an order entered on December 13, nunc pro tunc to August 1, 2006, the juvenile court found that appellant “behaved very belligerently and disrespectfully and displayed physical aggressiveness and posturing as the court attempted to inform her of her rights.” Appellant resisted arrest for criminal contempt, attempted to bite a female deputy, took off her shirt, wrapped it around her neck, and attempted to hang herself. She informed another deputy that she would shoot him if she had a gun. The court found that the child was deprived because appellant suffered from a deficiency of her physical, mental, emotional, or moral condition of such a nature as to render her unable to provide for the child’s needs.2 The court also found that “the child would be at significant risk if she were in the custody of this suicidal and threatening mother.” The court placed the child in the temporary custody of DFACS but stated that the permanency plan was reunification.
The reunification plan required appellant to maintain stable housing and stable income; attend anger management and parenting classes and counseling and drug and alcohol treatment, as recommended by The Road to Recovery, Inc. “Road to Recovery”; attend budgeting classes; secure a transportation plan; and obtain a GED. Appellant, however, substantially failed to comply with the plan. She was terminated from the Road to Recovery program due to her belligerent behavior, lost her job, smoked marijuana daily, and was evicted from her home. As a result, in an order dated May 31, 2007, the juvenile court found her in contempt of court. DFACS then filed a nonreunification case plan.
