Following the termination of his parental rights, L. L. J.’s father appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. Because the evidence supported the juvenile court’s judgment, we affirm.On appeal in a termination case, we review the evidence in a light most favorable to the juvenile court’s judgment and determine only whether any rational trier of fact could have found by clear and convincing evidence that the natural parent’s right to custody should be terminated. We defer to the juvenile court’s factfinding and thus neither weigh the evidence nor evaluate witness credibility.Punctuation and citation omitted. In the Interest of K. J. M. 1 So viewed, the record shows that L. L. J. was born in December 2002 and was first taken into custody by the Wayne County Department of Family and Children Services DFCS in July 2003, when her mother was incarcerated for a probation violation due to a failed drug test. The father was also incarcerated at that time. DFCS placed L. L. J. with her maternal grandmother until May 2004, when DFCS resumed custody based on an allegation that the grandmother’s boyfriend abused L. L. J.’s sibling. A reunification plan was established for L. L. J.’s parents, requiring them to establish and maintain stable housing and employment, undertake visitation, and complete family and substance abuse counseling. After DFCS regained custody, the father, who had been released from prison, legitimated L. L. J. and participated in visitation with L. L. J. In 2005, the parents consented to extending DFCS’s custody to May 2006. In mid-2005, the father was arrested and incarcerated for a probation violation based on charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, habitual violator of driving without a license, fleeing an officer, obstruction, and a traffic violation. In December 2005, he pled guilty to those charges and was sentenced to serve ten years in prison followed by ten years of probation.
In March 2006, DFCS petitioned for termination of the father’s parental rights based on the father’s incarceration, failure to establish a meaningful bond with the child, and inability to provide stable housing or support for the child. After a hearing at which the father testified, the juvenile court granted the petition, giving rise to this appeal. Before terminating a parent’s rights, a juvenile court must employ a two-prong test. In the first prong, the court must decide whether there is present clear and convincing evidence of parental misconduct or inability. OCGA § 15-11-94 a. Parental misconduct or inability, in turn, is proven by evidence showing: 1 that the child is deprived; 2 that lack of proper parental care or control is the cause of deprivation; 3 that the cause of deprivation is likely to continue or will not likely be remedied; and 4 that continued deprivation is likely to cause serious physical, mental, emotional, or moral harm to the child. OCGA § 15-11-94 b 4 A. In the second prong of the termination test, the juvenile court must consider whether termination of parental rights would be in the best interest of the child. Punctuation omitted. In the Interest of R. N. H. 2
