A Fulton County juvenile court found 15-year-old M. K. deprived and awarded temporary custody of her to her biological father. In the same proceeding, the court granted the biological father’s petition to legitimate M. K. The mother appeals the order, and for the reasons that follow, we affirm the juvenile court’s finding of deprivation, but reverse the grant of the putative father’s petition to legitimate M. K. 1. In two enumerations, the mother contends that there was insufficient evidence to prove that M. K. was deprived. A deprived child is one who is “without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health or morals.” OCGA § 15-11-2 8 A. In determining whether a child is deprived, the court focuses on the needs of the child rather than parental fault. In the Interest of J. P. , 280 Ga. App. 100, 104-105 2 633 SE2d 442 2006. And a temporary loss of custody is not authorized unless the deprivation “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.” Citations and punctuation omitted. In the Interest of K. S. , 271 Ga. App. 891, 892-893 611 SE2d 150 2005.
On appeal from a finding of deprivation, we “review the evidence in the light most favorable to the juvenile court’s judgment and determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found by clear and convincing evidence that the child was deprived and whether, under the circumstances, the court properly awarded temporary custody of the child.Cits.” In the Interest of D. A. , 240 Ga. App. 561, 562 524 SE2d 248 1999. So viewed, the evidence showed that on August 4, 2006, the Fulton County Department of Family and Children Services DFACS filed a deprivation complaint alleging, among other things, that M. K.’s mother “slaps M. K. around on a daily basis” and that M. K. was inadequately supervised. The complaint further alleged that the mother forced M. K. to sell doughnuts late at night and to use credit cards the mother had either stolen or found. Following a probable cause hearing, the juvenile court found that M. K. suffered physical abuse and emotional neglect and that she had unstable housing. The court ordered that M. K. be placed in DFACS custody. M. K. was placed with a relative, and her mother was prohibited from contacting her.
