In the Interest Of: T. J., a Child (Mother)

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ February 23, 2015

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A15D0246. IN THE INTEREST OF: T. J., A CHILD (MOTHER).

The mother of T. J. seeks to appeal an interim order of the juvenile court placing custody of the child with his father pending an investigation into dependency allegations as to the mother. Because the order at issue is not final, the mother was required to follow the interlocutory appeal procedures in order to obtain review at this juncture. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (b); Bailey v. Bailey, 266 Ga. 832, 833 (471 SE2d 213) (1996).1 Compliance with the discretionary appeal procedure does not excuse a party seeking appellate review of an interlocutory order from complying with the additional requirements of OCGA § 5-6-34 (b), which include obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the trial court. See Bailey, supra. The mother’s failure to follow the interlocutory appeal procedures deprives us of jurisdiction over this discretionary application, which is hereby DISMISSED.

1 Although the order involved the custody of T. J., this dependency proceeding is not a “custody case” triggering the right of direct appeal under OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (11). See In the Interest of J. N., 302 Ga. App. 631, 632-633 (1) (691 SE2d 396) (2010). In addition, although interim custody orders in dependency proceedings may be appealed directly under OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1) when accompanied by a finding of dependency, see In the Interest of S. A. W., 228 Ga. App. 197, 199 (1) (491 SE2d 441) (1997), it appears that no such finding has been made in this case. Compare In the Interest of W. P. B., 269 Ga. App. 101 (1) (603 SE2d 454) (2004) (direct appeal permitted from temporary protective custody order that “actually resolved the issue of deprivation”).

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 02/23/2015 Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 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.