Utah
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Pre-Service Training

The Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) contracts with Utah Foster Care Foundation (UFC) to deliver the National Training and Development Curriculum for Foster and Adoptive Parents (NTDC) pre-service training to prospective foster and adoptive families. Relative caregivers do not have to complete NTDC unless they intend to become licensed.

All prospective adoptive parents must also complete an eight-hour Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) parent training prior to finalization, and attendance is encouraged upon initial placement of a child. The full TBRI® Caregiver Series is offered to prospective adoptive families but is not mandatory.

Services Offered Through the State’s Post-Permanency Support Program

DCFS collaborates with Raise the Future to manage the Utah’s Adoption Connection website and offer post-adoption services.

Services include:

 A family support team supports and collaborates with a youth’s team once a potential family has been identified. Services are designed to maintain relationships and support attachments. As noted above, all adoptive parents also receive eight hours of TBRI® parent training.

General in-person or virtual support groups are held in each region. Topics may include book studies or psychoeducation groups related to talking about race, hair care, and more.

Both DCFS and Raise the Future staff provide information, referral, and system navigation support to families. Staff are trained in TBRI® and share TBRI® principles and strategies with families. Families also have access to local and national event calendars, a statewide resource database, a lending library, and a quarterly digital newsletter.

Families can receive in-home TBRI® coaching to provide hands-on guidance to help caregivers implement TBRI® strategies effectively in their home. In-home services typically involve 8 to 12 visits per family with reassessment for further participation. When there is a waitlist for in-home services, families receive resources and activities to maintain stability, such as referrals to other providers or check-in calls/home visits with the family.

Families can access a variety of in-person and virtual trainings on key topics in adoption, including the TBRI® Caregiver Series.

Periodic events are held around the state to enable families to connect with one another, both virtually and in-person. For instance, a teen sibling activity of rock climbing has been facilitated in the past.

Families receiving coaching services are also eligible for support from a mentor who helps youth practice TBRI® principles that will help them be more successful.

DCFS may enter into contract services with private providers, if and when needed, to ensure continuity of services for families.

DCFS has developed and maintained partnerships with several agencies, including Raise the Future, Utah Foster Care Foundation, and a host of others to ensure families are supported. These organizations provide services to foster, adoptive, kinship, and other families seeking support in meeting the needs of their children.

Utah’s Adoption Connection provided in-home coaching to 32 post-permanency families in fiscal year 2023.

For more information, visit https://www.utahadopt.org/support-resources or https://www.raisethefuture.org/family-support/utah

Geographic Area Covered

Services are offered statewide. DCFS has divided the state into five regions, each with a DCFS regional post-adoption team.

To ensure accessibility, most training courses are provided virtually. Many support groups are also offered virtually. TBRI® in-home coaching services are offered statewide but occur more often in urban areas due to staff availability.

Eligible Population for the Overall Post-Permanency Program

  • Only families receiving adoption assistance

Accessibility

TBRI® trainings and support groups are provided in Spanish. Both DCFS and Raise the Future have Spanish-speaking staff, and translation services are provided as needed.

Utah’s Adoption Connection, in partnership with Raise the Future, offers annual training on interracial adoption and hosts statewide activities for Interracial families.

Utah Foster Care offers a support group specifically for LGBTQ2S+ families who have adopted, are fostering, or simply looking for connection.

Outreach and Engagement

Adoptive families receive a quarterly newsletter either in the mail or virtually from Utah’s Adoption Connection. DCFS sends an annual letter to adoptive families, which provides contact information for questions and assistance.

How the Post-Permanency Program Is Operated

  • Through contracts or grants with one private agency

  • By specialized state post-permanency support workers

Notes About Who Provides Which Service(s)

Through Utah’s Adoption Connection, Raise the Future provides statewide post-permanency supports and services.

Utah’s DCFS post-permanency support workers assist families with subsidy questions, general support and provide referrals to Raise the Future or other private agencies as needed.

Adoption/Guardianship Assistance/Subsidy Review and Changes

Adoptive parents receiving an adoption subsidy may email or call their regional subsidy/post adoption worker to have their monthly adoption subsidy reassessed at any time.

Tracking Adoption/Guardianship Discontinuity

Current data systems do not routinely track discontinuity. DCFS is actively developing data reports and designs to enhance tracking.

Post-Permanency Program Spending (FY 2023)

  • $500,000 – $999,999 million

Funding Sources for the Post-Permanency Program (FY 2023)

  1. Adoption savings (reported on CB 496 Part 4 – Annual Adoption Savings Report)
  2. Title IV-B, Part 2 (Promoting Safe and Stable Families/PSSF)

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