Specific considerations when child is placed in foster home.
Utah Code § 80-4-304
in effect80-4-304. Specific considerations when child is placed in foster home.
If a child is in the custody of the division and has been placed and resides in a foster home and the division institutes proceedings under this chapter regarding the child, with an ultimate goal of having the child's foster parent or parents adopt the child, the juvenile court shall consider:
(1) whether the child has become integrated into the foster family to the extent that the child's familial identity is with the foster family;
(2) whether the foster family is able and willing permanently to treat the child as a member of the family;
(3) the love, affection, and other emotional ties existing between the child and the parents, and the child's ties with the foster family;
(4) the capacity and disposition of the child's parents from whom the child was removed as compared with that of the foster family to give the child love, affection, and guidance and to continue the education of the child;
(5) the length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory foster home and the desirability of the child continuing to live in that environment;
(6) the permanence as a family unit of the foster family; and
(7) any other factor that the juvenile court considers relevant to a particular placement of a child.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 261, 2021 General Session
Source: Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel (le.utah.gov)URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title80/Chapter4/80-4-S304.html?v=C80-4-S304_2021050520210901Fetched: 10/26/2026