Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 15. COURTS · Chapter 11. JUVENILE CODE · Article 5. CHILD IN NEED OF SERVICES · Part 5. PETITION AND SUMMONS

15-11-420. Authority to file petition.

Active

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

A petition alleging that a child is a child in need of services may be filed by a parent, a guardian, a legal custodian, a law enforcement officer, a guardian ad litem, an attorney who has knowledge of the facts alleged or is informed and believes that such facts are true, or a prosecuting attorney. Except when such petition has been filed by a prosecuting attorney, it shall not be accepted for filing unless the court or a person authorized by the court has determined and endorsed on the petition that the filing of the petition is in the best interests of the public and such child. When such petition is filed by a prosecuting attorney, the prosecuting attorney shall be authorized to conduct the proceedings on behalf of the state as parens patriae.

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Code 1981, § 15-11-420, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 1-1/HB 242; Ga. L. 2014, p. 780, § 1-32/SB 364; Ga. L. 2015, p. 540, § 2-3/HB 361.

Cross references

Definition of grandparent and securing of rights, § 19-7-3.

Law reviews

For article discussing due process in juvenile court procedures in California and Georgia, in light of In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 87 S. Ct. 1428, 18 L. Ed. 2d 527 (1967), see 8 Ga. St. B. J. 9 (1971). For article, ‘‘An Outline of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction with Focus on Child Custody,’’ see 10 Ga. St. B. J. 275 (1973). For article, ‘‘Child Custody—Jurisdiction and Procedure,’’ see 35 Emory L. J. 291 (1986). For article, ‘‘Hush, Little Baby, Don’t Say a Word: How Seeking the ‘Best Interests of the Child’ Fostered a Lack of Accountability in Georgia’s Juvenile Courts,’’ see 58 Mercer L. Rev. 531 (2007). For article, ‘‘The Prosecuting Attorney in Georgia’s Juvenile Courts,’’ see 13 Ga. St. B. J. 27 (2008). For note criticizing jurisdiction of juvenile justice system over runaways and advocating alternative legal approaches, see 24 Emory L. J. 1075 (1975). For comment on grandparents’ visitation rights in Georgia, see 29 Emory L. J. 1083 (1980).

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Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t15-ch1-11a-(v13)-2020-pdf.pdf, Volume V13, 2020 edition, page 1136; merge action: carried; file SHA-256 1f1f034443c3.

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