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:
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
Cultural Responsiveness
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
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)
Funding Sources for the Post-Permanency Program (FY 2023)
- Adoption savings (reported on CB 496 Part 4 – Annual Adoption Savings Report)
- Title IV-B, Part 2 (Promoting Safe and Stable Families/PSSF)