GA HB641

Completely rewrites Georgia's Juvenile Code (Title 15, Chapter 11), replacing the term "deprived child" with "dependent child" and "unruly child" with "child in need of services," while modernizing definitions, procedures, and due process protections for dependency, delinquency, and termination of parental rights proceedings effective July 1, 2013.

Establishes detailed timelines for dependency cases, including a preliminary protective hearing within 72 hours of a child's placement in foster care, permanency plan hearings within 9 months for children under 7 and 12 months for children 7 and older, and requires DFCS to file petitions to terminate parental rights when a child has been in foster care for 15 of the most recent 22 months.

Creates a comprehensive independent living services framework (Article 5) for foster youth ages 14–23, requiring DFCS to provide preindependent living assessments, life skills training, subsidized independent living arrangements, and aftercare/transitional support services for young adults formerly in foster care up to age 23.

Establishes new competency procedures for delinquency cases (Article 8), defining "incompetent to proceed" to include age and immaturity, requiring competency evaluations by licensed examiners, allowing competency remediation services, and mandating comprehensive services plans for children found unrestorably incompetent rather than continued prosecution.

Creates the Georgia Juvenile Code Commission (Article 13) to conduct periodic reviews of the juvenile code at least every two years, and codifies the Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children (Article 12) with independent oversight authority including subpoena power, access to DFCS records, and the ability to inspect facilities where children are placed.