2021 Georgia Code
Title 15 - Courts
Chapter 11 - Juvenile Code
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 15-11-36. Expenses Charged to County; Payment by Parent on Court Order

1. The following expenses shall be a charge upon the funds of the county upon certification thereof by the court:
   1. The cost of medical and other examinations and treatment of a child ordered by the court;
   2. The cost of care and support of a child committed by the court to the legal custody of an individual or a public or private agency other than DJJ, but the court may order supplemental payments, if such are necessary or desirable for services;
   3. Reasonable compensation for services and related expenses of an attorney appointed by the court, when appointed by the court to represent a child and when appointed by the court to conduct the proceedings;
   4. Reasonable compensation for a guardian ad litem;
   5. The expense of service of summons, notices, and subpoenas; travel expenses of witnesses; transportation, subsistence, and detention of a child for juvenile court proceedings or superior court proceedings when a child is prosecuted in superior court pursuant to Code Section 15-11-560; and other like expenses incurred in the proceedings under this chapter; and
   6. The cost of counseling and counsel and advice required or provided under the provisions of Code Section 15-11-212 or 15-11-601.
2. The court shall determine whether the expenses shall be a charge upon the funds of the county and certify such expenses to the county governing authority within 120 days from the date such expenses were submitted to the court for certification. If the court has not made such certification within 120 days, the court shall be deemed to have denied certification.
3. If, after due notice to the parent or other person legally obligated to care for and support a child and after affording such person an opportunity to be heard, the court finds that such person is financially able to pay all or part of the costs and expenses outlined in subsection (a) of this Code section, the court may order such person to pay the same and prescribe the manner of payment. In addition, the court may order payment from a child's parent or other legally obligated person or entity to reimburse all or part of the costs and expenses of the department or DJJ for treatment, care, and support of a child. Unless otherwise ordered, payment shall be made to the clerk of the court for remittance to the person or agency, including the department or DJJ, to whom compensation is due or, if the costs and expenses have been paid by the county, to the appropriate officer of the county.

(Code 1981, §15-11-36, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 1-1/HB 242.)

- For article, "An Outline of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction with Focus on Child Custody," see 10 Ga. St. B. J. 275 (1973).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, decisions under former Code 1933, §§ 24-2431 and 24-2432, pre-2000 Code Section 15-11-56 and pre-2014 Code Section 15-11-8, which were subsequently repealed but were succeeded by provisions in this Code section, are included in the annotations for this Code section. See the Editor's notes at the beginning of the chapter.

- There is no statutory provision whereby the Supreme Court can appoint counsel on appeals in habeas corpus cases contesting child custody. West v. Cobb County Dep't of Family & Children Servs., 243 Ga. 425, 254 S.E.2d 373 (1979) (decided under former Code 1933, §§ 24-2431 and 24-2432).

- "Subsistence," as used in former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-8(a)(5), must be interpreted to include emergency medical procedures; thus, a juvenile court erred when the court refused to certify the emergency medical expenses incurred by a juvenile in the temporary custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice for payment by a county. In the Interest of J.S., 282 Ga. 623, 652 S.E.2d 547 (2007) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-8).

Defendant. a juvenile, sustained a hand fracture while in the custody of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. In view of a nurse's testimony that delaying treatment could have caused the hand to become deformed, the provision of medical services to treat the fracture was an emergency or necessary medical procedure that fell within the meaning of "subsistence" as provided in former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-8(a)(5); therefore, the county was obliged to pay these medical expenses. In re A. G., 298 Ga. App. 804, 681 S.E.2d 649 (2009) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-8).

- It is proper for a court to consider a juvenile's parents' income when the court makes a decision concerning whether or not the juvenile is indigent. In re R.K.J., 179 Ga. App. 112, 345 S.E.2d 658 (1986) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-8).

- Trial court erred in refusing to certify the medical bills sought to be reimbursed by the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) from a county in the amount of $4,568.50 incurred on behalf of a female juvenile detained in the custody of the DJJ, because the juvenile presented a life-threatening condition of galactorrhea, which required diagnostic testing at a medical center; the word subsistence, as provided in former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-8(a)(5), was held to include emergency medical treatment for a juvenile, therefore, DJJ was entitled to reimbursement from the county. In the Interest of J.S., 283 Ga. App. 448, 641 S.E.2d 682, aff'd, 282 Ga. 623, 652 S.E.2d 547 (2007) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 15-11-8).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, decisions under former Code 1933, §§ 24-2431 and 24-2432, which were subsequently repealed but were succeeded by provisions in this Code section, are included in the annotations for this Code section. See the Editor's notes at the beginning of the chapter.

- Costs in juvenile proceedings are properly charges against county in which case arises; the county may not be required to pay such costs in advance. 1978 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U78-19 (decided under former Code 1933, §§ 24-2431 and 24-2432).

- Once a child has been brought to the court or a juvenile intake officer, subsequent transportation of children under the jurisdiction of a juvenile court is the county's responsibility, and that such transportation costs shall be a charge upon the funds of the county upon certification thereof by the court. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U79-13 (decided under former Code 1933, §§ 24-2431 and 24-2432).

Psychometric testing, psychological examinations, and remedial reading instructions were included in former provisions. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U79-4 (decided under former Code 1933, §§ 24-2431 and 24-2432).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 47 Am. Jur. 2d, Juvenile Courts and Delinquent and Dependent Children, § 115.

- Uniform Juvenile Court Act (U.L.A.) § 52.