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House Bill 303 Summary and Analysis1

Origins of House Bill 303

House Bill 303 ("HB 303") was introduced by Representative Mumford on February 8 in the Georgia 2007 General Assembly Legislative Session. The bill is part of the legislative package of the Council of Juvenile Court Judges and was drafted by Vivian Egan, a Department of Family and Children Services' attorney.

Legislative Purpose

The proposed bill, if enacted, would amend Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) as it relates to the extension of the duration of a court custody order when a motion for custody extension is filed by the Division of Family and Children Services ("DFCS") of the Department of Human Resources.

Summary and Explanation of the Proposed Changes

HB 303 would extend the duration of the temporary custody order to one or more periods of twelve months with no stated maximum. Current law, which is codified in O.C.G.A. § 15-11-58 (n), only allows for a maximum of a twelve month extension on temporary custody orders.2 The proposed bill would also provide for a hearing to be held upon motion of the Department of Family and Children Services or any other party before the court order expires. Current law explicitly provides that custody extension hearings are held upon the motion of DFCS before the court order expires and is silent with regards to the other parties.3 The bill's purpose is to avoid the administrative and judicial burden that comes from filing a new petition in court.

The bill proposes to amend O.C.G.A. § 15-11-58 (n) in the following way:

  1. Allowing custody orders to be extended for one or more periods of twelve months with no stated maximum

    1. Current Law. O.C.G.A. § 15-11-58 (n) allows for a maximum of a twelve month extension on temporary custody orders. The following three conditions must be met in order for the court to extend the custody order: 1) "a hearing is held upon motion of the Division of Family and Children Services ("DFCS") of the Department of Human Resources prior to the expiration of the order; 2) reasonable notice of the factual basis of the motion and of the hearing and opportunity to be heard are given to the parties affected; and 3) the court finds that the extension is necessary to accomplish the purposes of the order extended."4

    2. Proposed Change. HB 303 adds the language "one or more periods of" to O.C.G.A. § 15-11-58 (n), extending the temporary custody order maximum from twelve months to an indefinite number of twelve month periods. This would streamline the administrative and judicial processes required when DFCS has to file a new petition in court by allowing DFCS to extend the current custody order rather than file a new petition for deprivation.

  2. Giving other parties in addition to DFCS the authority to file a motion to extend custody prior to the expiration of the custody order

    1. Current Law. O.C.G.A. § 15-11-58 (n) (1) limits filing a motion to extend a custody order to DFCS. Guardians, relatives, and other parties are not eligible to file custody order extensions.

    2. Proposed Change. HB 303 adds the language "or any party" to O.C.G.A. § 15-11-58 (n) (1), allowing DFCS or any other party to file a motion to extend custody prior to expiration of the custody This would allow any party interested in filing the motion to be able to do so rather than depending on DFCS to file a motion to extend the custody order.

Does HB 303 comply with Federal Law?

As worded, HB 303 does not technically violate the requirements of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 ("ASFA"), because ASFA is silent on custody order extensions beyond the 12-month permanency hearing period. However, because HB 303 would make it easier to keep children in custody longer, the bill would violate the spirit of ASFA in promoting timely permanency for children. Because only technical violations of ASFA will result in any loss of funding, the passage of HB 303 should not result in any federal funding cuts for the state.

1 February 26, 2007 by Britt-Marie Cole-Johnson, Student Attorney, Emory University School of Law Class of 2008.

2 See Interest of B.G., 231 Ga.App. 39, 40-41 (1998).

3 O.C.G.A. § 15-11-58 (n).

4 Id.

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