At a Glance (Utah Law): 2026 Utah custody evaluations (H.B. 303 is in re-codified Title 81) are amended to put child safety and coercive control closer to the center of custody decisions and create a statutory framework for child custody evaluations. When these changes are read together with Om’s Law,…
How Does DCFS Get Involved with “Good” Parents? Imagine this: you’re taking a nap on the couch, only to be awoken by a knock on the door. It’s the police and they’re concerned that your seven-year-old was playing outside unsupervised, and you didn’t even know they’d gotten outside. Stuff like this happens all the time and can, in some cases, cause DCFS to pay…
“Why Is DCFS on My Doorstep?” DCFS is generally called when there is reason to believe that abuse or neglect is occurring within the home. If there’s enough information in the initial report to launch an investigation, DCFS may show up at your home. Parents should also understand that DCFS…
Counselling and Support Groups While DCFS does remove children from homes, this is generally seen as a last resort. Typically there are other steps DCFS takes in order to remedy the situation before putting a child through the traumatic process of removing them from their home. It’s common for DCFS…
Emotional Abuse/Neglect Despite what some may believe, emotional abuse is real and it does have lasting consequences on children. You can probably remember how it felt to be bullied in school as a child. Now, imagine that you were also bullied at home by the people you have a biological…
What Does It Take for a Child to Be Taken Away Immediately? What Does a DCFS Investigation Look Like? When a call comes into DCFS, they need to determine whether there’s enough information to investigate the incident or not. If there is enough information to investigate, they may show up at…
Not for messy. For unsafe, yes. Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services does not remove children because there are dishes in the sink, laundry on the couch, and toys on every surface. It can and does get involved when the condition of a home puts a child’s health or…
Yes. Utah law does not set an upper age at which a parent can place a child for adoption; a minor of any age can be adopted, and Utah’s Adoption Act, now Utah Code Title 81, Chapter 13, governs the process from newborns to seventeen-year-olds. What changes with age is…
When It’s Someone Else’s Child Whether or not you should call DCFS as soon as possible will depend on your situation. If you have good reason to believe that a child is experiencing abuse and/or neglect, and the child is not your child, contacting DCFS is not necessarily a bad…
Divorce and drug addiction. How It All Starts Addiction can become a risk for anyone who’s struggling with a difficult time—and divorce is usually a difficult time for most people. This can mean that addictions are more likely to develop during the divorce process. Of course, not everyone develops an…
How to Survive and Thrive When Your Marriage Ends