1. [Minor] is a 13-year-old boy from Guatemala who lived in poverty with an abusive father. He traveled alone to the US in hopes of a better life but was kidnapped in Mexico for two weeks before escaping. 2. [Minor]'s uncle filed a petition in juvenile court seeking a dependency finding and custody of [Minor]. The court declined to find [Minor] dependent because his parents authorized his uncle to care for him. 3. The uncle argues the juvenile court erred in its dependency finding because [Minor] meets the statutory definition of a dependent child under Georgia law due to lacking proper parental care and control from his parents in Guatemala.

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REDACTED WRITING SAMPLE
BRIEF OF APPELLANTS
PART ONE
FACTS
[MINOR] is a shy, sweet thirteen-year-old boy, born on [REDACTED] in
[REDACTED], Guatemala. He was born to married Guatemalan parents. He lived with his parents
and four siblings in a one-room house without electricity. [MINOR] reports that his family often
did not have enough food and other basic necessities. His father drank alcohol regularly and did
not have steady employment. Due to his father’s unsteady employment, [MINOR]’s education
was foregone so that he could help earn money to support his family. He stopped attending school
at age eight to work long days in agriculture, planting and harvesting crops. In addition to his
father’s alcohol abuse, his father was verbally and physically abusive to [MINOR] and his mother.
When [MINOR] tried to defend his mother from his father’s abuse, his father yelled at him.
[MINOR] traveled alone toward the United States in hopes of finding a better life and
opportunities. Once [MINOR] entered Mexico he was kidnapped and held for ransom. At only
thirteen-years-old, [MINOR] was held for nearly two weeks while kidnappers called his parents
in Guatemala to demand money. [MINOR] was only able to escape the horrific experience when
Petitioner learned of his capture and sent money for his release. [MINOR] then continued north
to the US border where he was apprehended by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
He was then taken into the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and
housed in a shelter. ORR eventually located Appellant, [MINOR]’s paternal uncle, and released
[MINOR] to him. Appellant took [MINOR] into his home, enrolled him in school, and cared for
him.

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On January [REDACTED], 2016, through counsel, Appellant filed Petition in Juvenile
Court via certified mail. In his Petition, and attached Brief in Support of Petition, Appellant
requested that [MINOR] be found to be a dependent child under Georgia law. Appellant also
requested that the Juvenile Court make additional conclusions of law so that [MINOR] could
apply for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and lawful permanent residence with the United
States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Specifically, Appellant requested that the
Juvenile Court find that reunification with one or both of [MINOR]’s parents is not viable due to
abuse, neglect, abandonment or a similar basis under State law and that it is not in [MINOR]’s
best interest to be returned to his country of nationality or country of last habitual residence,
Guatemala.
On June [REDACTED], 2016, the Juvenile Court issued its Order declining to find that
[MINOR] is currently dependent. In this Order, the Juvenile Court indicated that it would not find
for dependency on the grounds that [MINOR] is not without his parents because they gave
Appellant written authority for Appellant to provide [MINOR] with a home, care, support, control,
and supervision.
PRESERVATION OF ERROR
Appellant preserved the error by requesting a finding of dependency and additional
conclusions of law that would enable [MINOR] to apply for SIJS status before the Juvenile Court
below. O.C.G.A. § 9-11-52(c). Appellant requested that the Juvenile Court find that [MINOR] is
a dependent child under Georgia law, that he be granted custody of [MINOR], and that the
Juvenile Court find that reunification with one or both of [MINOR]’s parents is not viable due to
abuse, neglect, or abandonment and that it is not in [MINOR]’s best interest to be returned to
Guatemala. Specifically, these conclusions were requested in Appellant’s Petition Seeking a

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Finding of Dependency. Appellant’s request for these conclusions of law from the Juvenile Court
is therefore preserved for this appeal.
PART TWO
ENUMERATION OF ERROR
The Juvenile Court erred in its determination that Appellant’s Petition Seeking a Finding
of Dependency Under O.C.G.A. §§ 15-11-2(22)(A) and 15-11-2(22)(C) lacked allegations
sufficient for the Court to find for dependency. This error is addressed in turn. Appellant charges
that the Juvenile Court erred in finding that [MINOR] was not dependent because his parents gave
written authority to Appellant to care for him.
ARGUMENT AND CITATION OF AUTHORITIES
THE JUVENILE COURT ERRED IN FINDING THAT [MINOR] DID NOT MEET THE
DEFINITON OF A “DEPENDENT CHILD”.
The Juvenile Court’s Order incorrectly found that [MINOR] was not dependent at the time of
the filing of Appellant’s Petition. That finding misunderstands and misapplies Georgia law. As
argued above, [MINOR] met the statutory definition of a “dependent child”, as it is defined in
O.C.G.A. §§ 15-11-2(22)(A)and 15-11-2(22)(C). These statutes define dependency as an absence
of proper parental care and control. In re V.H., 308 Ga. App. 582, 583 (2011) (emphasis added).
Appellant’s Petition clearly states that [MINOR]’s parents reside in Guatemala and do not care
for him.
The Juvenile Court further erred when it found that, because Appellant cared for
[MINOR], he was not deprived. The Order incorrectly states that [MINOR] is not without his
parents and reasons that because [MINOR]’s parents authorized his stay with Appellant, he is not
dependent. Appellant voluntarily agreed to take physical custody of [MINOR] when he was

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captured by kidnappers. However, Appellant’s voluntary agreement did not give him legal custody
of [MINOR], and he therefore petitioned the Juvenile Court for an order formalizing his custody
of [MINOR].Regardless, Georgia courts have held that although “someone else is providing good
care in the absence of the parent in question, [this] does not preclude a finding of deprivation.” In
re S.R.M., 283 Ga. App. 463, 466 (2007); In the Interest of A.R., 295 Ga. App. 22, 26 (2008); see
also In the Interest of M.R., 333 Ga. App. 30, 32 (2013).1 At the time of filing of the Petition,
[MINOR] was an individual under the age of 18 residing within the walls of Georgia without
proper parental care and control.
Furthermore, the written letter from [MINOR]’s parents authorizing Appellant to care for
[MINOR] should be excluded because it is not admissible evidence. The letter was neither
admitted into evidence prior to the hearing nor was it translated to verify its authenticity as what
it purports to be under the Federal Rules of Evidence. The letter is simply the parents’
acknowledgment that [MINOR]is living under Appellant’s care and not permission for [MINOR]
to stay with Appellant. This is so due to their lack of contact with [MINOR] and their lack of
economic support. Regardless of that fact, the evidence should never have been admitted into
evidence because it was not translated for the court prior to the hearing, therefore lacking
authenticity. Not considering the letter, [MINOR] meets the definition of a “dependent child” as
defined in O.C.G.A § 15-11-2(22)(C).
1 In re S.R.M. concerned proceedings regarding a child who was living with an aunt who had obtained an order of
temporary letters of guardianship.In that case, the child’s mother argued that the child was not deprived because the
aunt was providing the child with food, clothing, shelter and care. The Court of Appeals highlighted previous cases
in which it has held that children living with temporary guardians are deprived of proper parental control. See In re
M.C.J., 242 Ga. App. 852, 855 (2000) (finding that “the statute provides that the Court determines parental
misconduct or inability based upon,among other things,the lack of proper parental care or control by the parent in
question.”), and In re J.L.M., 204 Ga. App. 46, 48 (1992) (finding that children living with temporary guardians
were deprived of proper parental control).

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CONCLUSION
Appellants appeal the Fulton County Juvenile Court’s Order On Dependency Petition.
Appellants respectfully request that the Court of Appeals find that the Juvenile Court misapplied
Georgia statutes and case law in its Order and therefore erred when it declined to find that
[MINOR] is in need of protection of the court. Now, without an opportunity to present Appellant’s
petition, [MINOR] may face removal to Guatemala, to a state of deprivation. Appellant therefore
respectfully request that the Court of Appeals reverse and remand the proceedings to Juvenile
Court, with instructions that it issue a decision on its merits nunc pro tunc to the date of the legal
error committed by the Juvenile Court. Without this remedy, [MINOR] will be ineligible to even
apply to USCIS for SIJS status Therefore, in the best interest of [MINOR], Appellants respectfully
request that this matter be reversed and remanded with instructions to the Fulton County Juvenile
Court.