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Read. Follow. Verify.Utah Enacts Child Welfare Amendments Governing Foster Care Placements, Records Access, and Postadoption Contact
Last action · March 17, 2026: Governor SignedSponsors: Wayne Harper and 1 other
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What This Bill Does
Utah enacts legislation modifying child welfare processes, allowing the Division of Child and Family Services to share information with the Division of Professional Licensing, updating definitions of relatives and foster parent due process timelines, and regulating s.
Changes how child welfare records are shared, how foster parents request reviews before a child is removed from their home, and how s are enforced in juvenile court.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Division of Child and Family Services
DCFS is required to notify parties when filing reports, adhere to new timelines for foster complaints, and follow updated relative placement and record-sharing guidelines.
Foster parents
Foster parents gain a lowered 12-month threshold to request juvenile court judge reviews before child removal and receive specific notice timelines regarding complaints.
Adoptive parents and birth relatives
Parties entering into postadoption contact agreements are subject to new statutory requirements for court approval, legal enforceability, and judicial presumptions.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can a foster parent request a review by a juvenile court judge prior to a child's removal?
What is required for a postadoption contact agreement to be legally enforceable?
How quickly must placement objections involving a relative or friend be resolved by the juvenile court?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
46 actions- Mar 17, 2026Lieutenant Governor's office for filingEnrolledGovernor Signed
- Mar 3, 2026SenateSenate/ to Governor
- Mar 3, 2026SenateSenate/ received enrolled bill from Printing
- Feb 25, 2026SenateSenate/ enrolled bill to Printing
- Feb 25, 2026Senate SecretaryEnrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
- Feb 22, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingDraft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
Show 40 earlier actions
- Feb 22, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingBill Received from Senate for Enrolling
- Feb 19, 2026SenateSenate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling
- Feb 19, 2026SenateSenate/ received from House
- Feb 19, 2026HouseHouse/ to Senate
- Feb 19, 2026HouseHouse/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate
- Feb 19, 2026HouseFloorHouse/ passed 3rd reading
- Feb 19, 2026HouseHouse/ 3rd reading
- Feb 17, 2026HouseHouse/ 2nd reading
- Feb 17, 2026HouseHouse/ committee report favorable
- Feb 13, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Feb 11, 2026HouseCommitteeHouse/ to standing committee
- Feb 10, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Feb 10, 2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
- Feb 10, 2026SenateSenate/ to House
- Feb 10, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 3rd reading
- Feb 10, 2026SenateSenate/ 3rd reading
- Feb 9, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 2nd reading
- Feb 9, 2026SenateSenate/ 2nd reading
- Jan 28, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0141S02
- Jan 28, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0141S02
- Jan 27, 2026SenateSenate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar
- Jan 27, 2026SenateSenate/ comm rpt/ substituted
- Jan 26, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Jan 26, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Substitute Recommendation
- Jan 26, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0141S02
- Jan 26, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0141S02
- Jan 22, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0141S01
- Jan 22, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0141S01
- Jan 21, 2026SenateCommitteeSenate/ to standing committee
- Jan 21, 2026SenateSenate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
- Jan 21, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0141
- Jan 20, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0141S01
- Jan 20, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0141S01
- Jan 20, 2026SenateIntroducedSenate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Jan 17, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0141
- Jan 15, 2026SenateSenate/ received bill from Legislative Research
- Jan 14, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0141
- Jan 14, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0141
- Jan 14, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselNumbered Bill Publicly Distributed
- Jan 14, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselBill Numbered but not Distributed
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Voting Record
House/ passed 3rd reading
Total
75
- Yes
- 70
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 5
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (72)
48 more members
Show 5 earlier roll calls
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation
Total
10
- Yes
- 6
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 4
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (10)
Senate/ passed 3rd reading
Total
29
- Yes
- 24
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 5
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (29)
Senate/ passed 2nd reading
Total
29
- Yes
- 25
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 4
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (29)
Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation
Total
7
- Yes
- 5
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 2
- Abstain
- 0
Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
Total
7
- Yes
- 5
- No
- 1
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 1
- Abstain
- 0
Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expanded Inter-Agency Record Sharing
The legislation broadens DCFS authority by explicitly allowing record sharing with the Division of Professional Licensing for child abuse or neglect investigations related to professional licenses.
Connected Entities
Sources
le.utah.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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