Religious Rights of Youth in Out-of-Home Care - Utah

Date: January 2024

Youths' Religious Rights
Citation: Utah Foster Youth Bill of Rights  

In policy: Youth in foster care are empowered to exercise the following rights:

  • To be treated with respect regardless of age, race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, religious beliefs, family relations, or family history
  • To participate in or continue to participate in healthy and appropriate activities associated with school, culture, a religious organization, or within the community 

Agency Responsibilities 
Citation: Ann. Code § 80-2-302; Admin. Code R512-11-2; R512-11-3

The Division of Child and Family Services shall make rules that establish procedures to accommodate the moral and religious beliefs and culture of the minors and families that the division serves, including the following:

  • The immediate family and other relatives of a minor who is in protective custody, temporary custody, or custody of the division, or otherwise under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court
  • A foster and other out-of-home placement family
  • An adoptive family

In regulation: The terms used in this chapter are defined as follows:                          

  • 'Accommodate' means to adapt, adjust, or make provision to support. 
  • 'Culture' means the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns characteristic of a family and includes moral beliefs and religious beliefs. 
  • 'Moral beliefs' means ideas of what is right and what is wrong that shape one's outward behavior. Moral beliefs define what is decent and honorable. 
  • 'Religious beliefs' means faith or conviction in a system of principles or worship relating to the sacred and uniting its adherents in a community.

The division recognizes that children and families have the right to be understood within the context of their family's moral beliefs, religious beliefs, and culture. When intervening with a family, caseworkers shall ask the family to identify aspects of the family's moral beliefs, religious beliefs, and culture that are relevant to the care and placement of the child.

The Child and Family Team shall identify the moral beliefs, religious beliefs, and culture of the child and family and the accommodations requested by the child and family. The method that the division will employ to make the accommodation or the reasons that such accommodation is not reasonable or proper shall be reflected in the child and family plan.

Addressing Grievances
Citation: 04-DCFS Prac. Guidelines, § 300.9

If a child feels their rights have been violated, the child must be given the same resources to resolve the conflict as any other individual. This includes the following:

  • A meeting with the caseworker and their supervisor
  • Contact information for the child's guardian ad litem
  • Contact information for the Child and Family Services constituent services specialist 
  • Contact information for the Child Protection Ombuds