Under Georgia’s DFCS Manual they Define the Act of Deprivation as:

My Daughter Alice Samantha Thomason was alledgely charged with Deprivation,
according to the list below she committed none of those claims. Her children were no deprived, they had a home, a warm bed, food in their stomach and clothes on their backs. At no time were her children deprived – However Jackson County DFCS listened to unreliable informants and she is now fighting for her children. Jackoson County Georgia is very depressed economically and DFCS needed the 12,000.00 they received through federal funding throuh Title IV to fill their coffers.

Under the Georgia Constitution, the superior court system has exclusive
jurisdiction over all divorce actions. Ga. Const. 1983, Art. VI, §IV, ¶ I. As a result, some
confusion often arises when deprivation is alleged in a custody battle between the
child’s parents. Juvenile courts will not accept a deprivation petition filed by one parent
against another because it is most likely an attempt to gain custody of the child by
bypassing a more stringent standard of proof necessary to modify a custody award. In
the Interest of W.W.W., 213 Ga. App. 732 (1994). All deprivation proceedings arising
between the child’s parents must be originally filed in superior court. If the superior court
judge determines that the deprivation proceeding is not a custody dispute in disguise,
the judge will transfer the deprivation issues to the juvenile court for adjudication. In the
Interest of M.A. et al., Children, 218 Ga. App. 433 (1995). Thus, during the investigation
of an allegation of deprivation, it is possible that the caseworker will have some contact
with the superior court system as well.
B. Definition of Deprivation
The code lists four circumstances in which a child can be considered “deprived”.
When the child:
1. is without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by
law, or other care or control necessary for his physical, mental, or emotional
health or morals;
2. has been placed for care or adoption in violation of the law;
3. has been abandoned by his parents or other legal custodian; or
4. is without a parent, guardian, or custodian.