Walsh Act review delayed

A committee assigned to review Utah's interpretation of a federal child-protection act that has delayed placement of abused children with relatives referred the matter to a subcommittee Wednesday.

The Health and Human Services Interim Committee will take up the issue again in October.

State interpretation of the Adam Walsh Act of 2006 and a new state statute formulated to abide by it stipulate that criminal background checks on all potential adoptive and foster parents, including relatives, must be done before a child can be placed, even temporarily.

Safety of the child is the chief concern, but denying a loving relative who has desire and capacity to care for a child only compounds a child's abuse, some committee members said.

The state Division of Child and Family Services directors said kinship placement in actual numbers is working out to be only slightly lower than normal, but they acknowledged that delays are commonplace.