Code-Co's Utah Law Internet Access http://www.code-co.com/utah/
If you have problems or suggestions, please email webmaster@code-co.com
QuickLinks:
[Leg. Main Page]
[Enrolled Bills]
[Code Section Look Up]
[Committees]
[Legislators]
[Schedule]
[Journals]
Bill Related Links:
[End of Bill]
HB 271
ADOPTION OF CHILDREN IN DIVISION OF
FAMILY SERVICES CUSTODY
1996 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Nora B. Stephens
AN ACT RELATING TO THE DIVISION OF FAMILY SERVICES; REQUIRING MEDIA
PUBLICATION OF CHILDREN ELIGIBLE FOR ADOPTION; PROHIBITING SPECIFIED
DISCRIMINATION IN ADOPTIVE PLACEMENTS; PROVIDING TIMELINES FOR
ADOPTIVE PLACEMENTS; REQUIRING CONTRACTS WITH LICENSED AGENCIES
IN SPECIFIED CIRCUMSTANCES; REQUIRING PROMOTION OF ADOPTION IN
APPROPRIATE CASES; AND PROVIDING OPTION FOR COURTS TO DISCONTINUE
REUNIFICATION EFFORTS WITH REGARD TO VERY YOUNG CHILDREN.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
62A-4a-105 , as last amended by Chapter 1, Laws of Utah 1996
78-3a-311 , as last amended by Chapter 1, Laws of Utah 1996
ENACTS:
62A-4a-205.5 , Utah Code Annotated 1953
62A-4a-205.6 , Utah Code Annotated 1953
62A-4a-607 , Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1.
Section
62A-4a-105
is amended to read:
62A-4a-105. Division responsibilities.
The division shall:
(1) administer services to children and families, including child welfare services, youth
services, domestic violence services, and all other responsibilities the Legislature or the executive
director may assign to the division;
(2) establish standards for all contract providers of out-of-home care for children and
families;
(3) cooperate with the federal government in the administration of child welfare, youth
services, and domestic violence programs and other human service activities assigned by the
department;
(4) provide for the compilation of relevant information, statistics, and reports on child and
family service matters in the state;
(5) prepare and submit to the department, the governor, and the Legislature reports of the
operation and administration of the division in accordance with the requirements of Sections
62A-4a-117
and
62A-4a-118
;
(6) promote and enforce state and federal laws enacted for the protection of abused,
neglected, dependent, delinquent, ungovernable, and runaway children, and status offenders, in
accordance with the requirements of this chapter, unless administration is expressly vested in another
division or department of the state. In carrying out this subsection the division shall cooperate with
the juvenile courts, the Division of Youth Corrections, and with all public and private licensed child
welfare agencies and institutions to develop and administer a broad range of services and supports.
The division shall take the initiative in all matters involving the protection of abused or neglected
children if adequate provisions have not been made or are not likely to be made, and shall make
expenditures necessary for the care and protection of those children, within the division's budget;
(7) provide substitute care for dependent, abused, neglected, and delinquent children,
establish standards for substitute care facilities, and approve those facilities;
(8) provide financial support to persons adopting physically handicapped, mentally
handicapped, older, or other hard-to-place children who, immediately prior to adoption, were legal
wards of the state. The financial support provided under this subsection may not exceed the amounts
the division would provide for the child as a legal ward of the state;
(9) cooperate with the Office of Family Support in meeting social and economic needs of
individuals eligible for public assistance;
(10) conduct court-ordered home evaluations for the district and juvenile courts with regard
to child custody issues. The court shall order either the plaintiff, defendant, or both parties to
reimburse the division for the cost of that evaluation, in accordance with the community rate for that
- 2 -
service or with the department's fee schedule rate;
(11) provide noncustodial and in-home preventive services, designed to prevent family
breakup, family preservation services, and reunification services to families whose children are in
substitute care in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and Title 78, Chapter 3a, Juvenile
Courts;
(12) provide protective supervision of a family, upon court order, in an effort to eliminate
abuse or neglect of a child in that family;
(13) provide services to runaway and ungovernable children and their families;
(14) provide shelter care in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and Title 78,
Chapter 3a;
(15) provide social studies and reports for the juvenile court in accordance with Section
78-3a-514
;
(16) arrange for and provide training for staff and providers involved in the administration
and delivery of services offered by the division in accordance with this chapter;
(17) provide domestic violence services in accordance with the requirements of federal law,
and establish standards for all direct or contract providers of domestic violence services. Within
appropriations from the Legislature, the division shall provide or contract for a variety of domestic
violence services and treatment methods; [and]
(18) ensure regular, periodic publication regarding the number of children in the custody of
the division who have a permanency goal of adoption and who are eligible for adoption, and promote
adoption of those children; and
[(18)] (19) perform such other duties and functions as required by law.
Section 2.
Section
62A-4a-205.5
is enacted to read:
62A-4a-205.5. Placement for adoption -- Prohibition of discrimination based on race,
ethnicity, cultural heritage.
With regard to children in the custody of the division who have permanency goals of
adoption or who are eligible for adoption, the division may not base its decision for placement of
those children solely on the race, ethnicity, or cultural heritage of either the child or the prospective
- 3 -
adoptive parents.
Section 3.
Section
62A-4a-205.6
is enacted to read:
62A-4a-205.6. Adoptive placement time frame -- Contracting with agencies.
(1) With regard to children who have a permanency goal of adoption and who are eligible
for adoption, the division shall make intensive efforts to place the child in an adoptive home within
30 days after the court has freed the child for adoption in accordance with Subsection
78-3a-312
(3).
(2) If within the time period described in Subsection (1) the division is unable to locate a
suitable adoptive home, it shall contract with licensed child placing agencies to search for an
appropriate adoptive home for the child, and to place the child for adoption. The division shall
contract with a variety of child placing agencies licensed pursuant to Part 6.
(3) The time period described in Subsection (1) does not apply with regard to children who
the division has determined to have special needs or circumstances making the child hard to place
for adoption. That determination, and the reasons for that determination, shall be made a part of the
child's record.
Section 4.
Section
62A-4a-607
is enacted to read:
62A-4a-607. Promotion of adoption.
The division and all agencies licensed under this part shall promote adoption when that is a
possible and appropriate alternative for a child. Specifically, the division shall actively promote the
adoption of all children in its custody who have a permanency goal of adoption and who are eligible
for adoption. The division shall obtain or conduct research of prior adoptive families to determine
what families may do to be successful with their adoptive children and shall make this research
available to potential adoptive parents.
Section 5.
Section
78-3a-311
is amended to read:
78-3a-311. Dispositional hearing -- Child in custody of Division of Family Services --
Order for reunification services -- Exceptions.
(1) The court may make any of the dispositions described in Section 78-3a-516
, place the
child in the custody or guardianship of any individual or public or private entity or agency, order
protective supervision, family preservation, medical or mental health treatment, or other services.
- 4 -
(2) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (3), whenever the court orders continued removal
at the dispositional hearing, and that the minor remain in the custody of the Division of Family
Services, it shall order that the division make reasonable efforts to provide services to the minor and
his parent for the purpose of facilitating reunification of the family, within a maximum time period
not to exceed 12 months from the date that the child was initially removed from his home by the
division.
(b) Any physical custody of the minor by the parent during the period described in
Subsection (a) does not interrupt the running of the period.
(c) At the expiration of the 12 month period described in Subsection (a), a dispositional
review hearing shall be conducted by the court in accordance with Section 78-3a-312
. If at that time
the child cannot be safely returned to the care and custody of his parent without court supervision,
a permanency plan for the child shall be finalized. If the child clearly desires contact with the parent,
the court shall take the child's desire into consideration in determining the permanency plan.
(d) With regard to a child who is two years of age or younger at the time the court orders
reunification services, the court may order the discontinuance of those services after six months if
the parent or parents have not made substantial efforts to comply with the treatment plan. The
burden is upon the parents, and the division if it supports continued reunification services, to show
that the parents have made substantial efforts to comply with the plan during the first six months of
reunification services.
(3) Because of the state's interest in and responsibility to protect and provide permanency
for children who are abused, neglected, or dependent, the Legislature finds that a parent's interest
in receiving reunification services is limited. The court may, under any circumstances, determine
that efforts to reunify a child with his family are not reasonable, based on the individual
circumstances, and that reunification services need not be provided. In any case, there is a
presumption that reunification services should not be provided to a parent if the court finds, by clear
and convincing evidence, that any of the following circumstances exist:
(a) the whereabouts of the parents are unknown, based upon a verified affidavit indicating
that a reasonably diligent search has failed to locate the parent;
- 5 -
(b) the parent is suffering from a mental illness of such magnitude that it renders him
incapable of utilizing those services; that finding shall be based on competent evidence from mental
health professionals establishing that, even with the provision of services, the parent is unlikely to
be capable of adequately caring for the child within 12 months;
(c) the minor has been previously adjudicated as an abused child due to physical or sexual
abuse, that following the adjudication the child was removed from the custody of his parent, was
subsequently returned to the custody of that parent, and the minor is being removed due to additional
physical or sexual abuse;
(d) the parent has been convicted of causing the death of another child through abuse or
neglect;
(e) the minor has suffered severe abuse by the parent or by any person known by the parent,
if the parent knew or reasonably should have known that the person was abusing the minor;
(f) the minor has been adjudicated an abused child as a result of severe abuse by the parent,
and the court finds that it would not benefit the child to pursue reunification services with the
offending parent;
(g) the parent's rights have been terminated with regard to any other child;
(h) the child has been removed from his home on at least two previous occasions and
reunification services were offered or provided to the family at those times; or
(i) any other circumstance that the court determines should preclude reunification efforts or
services.
(4) (a) Failure of the parent to respond to previous services or comply with any previous
treatment plan, the fact that the child was abused while the parent was under the influence of drugs
or alcohol, a past history of violent behavior, whether a parent continues to live with an individual
who abused the child, any patterns of the parent's behavior that have exposed the child to repeated
abuse, or testimony by a competent professional that the parent's behavior is unlikely to be
successful, are relevant factors to consider in determining whether reunification services should be
ordered.
(b) The court shall also consider whether the parent has expressed an interest in reunification
- 6 -
with the child, in determining whether to order that reunification services be provided.
(5) If reunification services are not ordered pursuant to Subsection (3)(a), and the
whereabouts of a parent become known within six months of the out-of-home placement of the
minor, the court may order the division to provide reunification services. The time limits described
in Subsection (2), however, are not tolled by the parent's absence.
(6) If a parent is incarcerated or institutionalized, the court shall order reasonable services
unless it determines that those services would be detrimental to the minor. In determining detriment,
the court shall consider the age of the child, the degree of parent-child bonding, the length of the
sentence, the nature of the treatment, the nature of the crime or illness, the degree of detriment to the
child if services are not offered and, for minors ten years of age or older, the minor's attitude toward
the implementation of family reunification services, and any other appropriate factors. Reunification
services for an incarcerated or institutionalized parent are subject to the 12-month limitation imposed
in Subsection (2) unless the court determines that continued reunification services would be in the
child's best interest.
(7) If, pursuant to Subsection (3)(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), or (i), the court does not order
reunification services, a hearing shall be conducted within 120 days for establishment of a
permanency plan for the child, in accordance with Subsection
78-3a-312
(3).
- 7 -
QuickLinks:
[Leg. Main Page]
[Enrolled Bills]
[Code Section Look Up]
[Committees]
[Legislators]
[Schedule]
[Journals]
Bill Related Links:
[Top of Bill]
If you have problems or suggestions, please email webmaster@code-co.com
Code-Co's Utah Law Internet Access http://www.code-co.com/utah/
© Copyright (html coding, links, images only) 1996. Code-Co.