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In the Interest of Am. T.

Evidence that neither parent complied with their case plan goals, including following psychologist's recommendations, obtaining child care, attending random drug screens or addressing their mental health and substance abuse problems supported the termination of their parental rights to their three children.

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The parents of Am. T., An. T., and S. T. appeal an order terminating their parental rights. In a single enumeration of error, the father contends that the State failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that his parental rights should have been terminated. In two enumerations of error, the mother contends that the evidence was insufficient to terminate her parental rights and that the evidence was insufficient to show that termination was in the best interest of the children. After reviewing the record, we find otherwise and affirm. In considering a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence in a termination of parental rights case, the evidence must be reviewed in the light most favorable to the juvenile court’s determination. In the Interest of D. B. , 242 Ga. App. 763 531 SE2d 172 2000. When the evidence shows that any rational trier of fact could have found by clear and convincing evidence that the biological parent’s rights have been lost, we defer to the juvenile court’s factfinding. Id.

So viewed, the evidence shows that the parents first came to the attention of the Department of Family and Children Services DFACS in March 2002 due to their neglect of the children. In February 2004, after the father whipped two of the children with a belt, DFACS filed a petition for a court-ordered case plan. In March, a court-ordered plan was put in place, and the children were sent to an aunt in Tennessee while the mother recovered from neck surgery. The juvenile court found that the children were deprived, “but not to the extent that they should be removed from their parents.” A DFACS representative testified that the family abided by the safety plan.

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