The Juvenile Court of Bibb County terminated the parental rights of the mother and legal father of six-year-old C. M., five-year-old S. M., and three-year-old V. M. The children’s father appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. Finding no error, we affirm. 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 fact-finding and affirm unless the appellate standard is not met. Citation omitted. In re C. R. G. , 272 Ga. App. 161, 161-162 611 SE2d 784 2005. The Georgia Code sets forth a two-step process to be used in termination of parental rights cases. First, the trial court determines “whether there is present clear and convincing evidence of parental misconduct or inability.” OCGA § 15-11-94 a. Four factors must be present to establish parental misconduct or inability: 1 the child must be deprived; 2 the lack of proper parental care or control by the parent in question must cause the deprivation; 3 the cause of the deprivation must be likely to continue; and 4 continued deprivation must be likely to cause the child serious physical, mental, emotional, or moral harm. OCGA § 15-11-94 b 4 A i-iv. If the trial court finds that these four factors exist, then the court determines whether termination of parental rights is in the best interest of the child, “after considering the physical, mental, emotional, and moral condition and needs of the child, . . . including the need for a secure and stable home.” OCGA § 15-11-94 a.
Viewed in the light most favorable to the juvenile court’s judgment, the record shows that the Georgia Department of Human Resources by and through the Bibb County Department of Family and Child Services “the Department” first took custody of the children on February 6, 2003, several months after the parents separated. The children were removed to shelter care after the Department discovered the residence the children shared with their mother lacked running water and natural gas and was littered with trash and dog waste. The juvenile court adjudicated the children deprived in an order entered April 30, 2003, and the deprivation finding was repeated in a March 19, 2004 order which continued custody with the Department. The father did not appeal these orders and is thus bound by the deprivation determination, as he concedes. In re A. C. O. , 269 Ga. App. 667, 669 1 605 SE2d 77 2004.
