Concurrent Planning for Timely Permanency for Children - Utah

Date: August 2021

Defining Concurrent Planning

Citation: DCFS Practice Guidelines

From the guidelines: Concurrent permanency planning does the following:

  • Provides for planning for different permanency outcomes at the same time
  • Supports and expedite efforts to achieve permanency for a child within 1 year€”a timeframe that reflects a child's sense of the passage of time
  • Offers a structured approach to moving children quickly from the uncertainty of out-of-home care to the stability and security of a permanent family
  • Starts with the first interaction with the child or the family

State Approaches to Concurrent Planning

Citation: Ann. Code § 80-3-406

Effective September 1, 2021: If, at the dispositional hearing, the juvenile court orders continued removal and that the minor remain in the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services, the juvenile court shall first do the following:

  • Establish a primary permanency plan and a concurrent permanency plan for the minor in accordance with this section
  • Determine whether, in view of the primary permanency plan, reunification services are appropriate for the minor and the minor's family

The concurrent permanency plan shall include the following:

  • A representative list of the conditions under which the primary permanency plan will be abandoned in favor of the concurrent permanency plan
  • An explanation of the effect of abandoning or modifying the primary permanency plan

In determining the primary permanency plan and concurrent permanency plan, the juvenile court shall consider the following:

  • The preference for kinship placement over nonkinship placement
  • The potential for a guardianship placement if parental rights are terminated and no appropriate adoption placement is available
  • The use of an individualized permanency plan, only as a last resort

The juvenile court may amend a minor's primary permanency plan before the establishment of a final permanency plan under § 80-3-409. The juvenile court is not limited to the terms of the concurrent permanency plan in the event that the primary permanency plan is abandoned.

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