In the Interest of G. Q., Children (Mother)

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 10, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A24I0039. IN THE INTEREST OF G. Q. et al., CHILDREN (MOTHER).

The mother of G. Q. and G. M. filed this application for interlocutory review of the juvenile court’s order finding the children dependent and awarding temporary custody of the children to the Bartow County Division of Family and Children Services. The certificate of immediate review attached to the mother’s application, however, is defective.1 Accordingly, we will construe this filing as an application for discretionary appeal, in which no certificate of immediate review is required, rather than an application for interlocutory appeal, in which a proper certificate of immediate review is necessary. See Riley v. Ga. Department of Revenue, 295 Ga. App. 656, 657 (673 SE2d 49) (2009) (“The legislature has instructed that the Appellate Practice Act shall be liberally construed so as to bring about a decision on the merits of every case appealed and to avoid dismissal of any case.”) (punctuation omitted). The juvenile court’s order is directly appealable. See In the Interest of A. T., 309 Ga. App. 822, 824, n. 3 (711 SE2d 382) (2011) (“An order within a [dependency] proceeding deciding temporary custody of the child is a ‘final order,’ within the meaning of OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1), from which a direct appeal lies.”); In the Interest of S. J., 270 Ga. App. 598, 608 (1) (a) (607 SE2d 225) (2004). Under OCGA § 5-6-35 (j), we will grant a timely discretionary application if the lower court’s order is

1 The trial court entered the certificate of immediate review 14 days after the entry of the dependency order, rather than within 10 days of the order as required by OCGA § 5-6-34 (b).

subject to direct appeal. Accordingly, this application is hereby GRANTED. The mother shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the juvenile court. If she has already filed a notice of appeal, she need not file a second notice. The clerk of the juvenile court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the record transmitted to the Court of Appeals.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 10/10/2023 I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.