Reader comments
Do kin background checks hurt kids?

I live in one of the most socialized states in the union, but at least when there is something as important as child protection people with brains are in power in this state. Is Utah going for a record of deaths of children in foster care? The business of taking children is suffering, needs an economic boost.

The Division's implementation of the Adam Walsh legistlation has been a disaster. They did what they always do. They passed the law then spent the next year trying to figure out how to implement it. This is the problem when you have the legistlature responsible for running a child welfare agency with laws. The Principle is to help children be with family when they cannot be with their parents. It is not to have them sit in foster care for weeks to months while the bueacracy decides to give them a temporary license. This is nothing short of the systemic abuse of children. What is really funny (sarcasm) is that our Governor will hold a special legislative session to talk about splitting school districts but when children in this state are being abused and the DCFS managment admits that the law that was passed is not working that we have to wait till next spring to get it fixed. Incredible, so much for keeping children safe. Congradualtions Governor Huntsman and the rest of the legislature. I guess they are not your children or grandchildren.

The implementation of the law was done poorly. There should be a way to expidate the background checks for kinship placements. From personal experience I have seen situations where a child is paced in a kinship placement only to be removed after a background check is done. I have seen situations where not a single family member could pass a background check.
In a perfect world children would have a mom and dad and be happy but in reality that is not always the case.
I think that the people that are upset about this are also the people that would be upset when a child is placed in a kinship placement without a check and something happens to the child.
The law should not be repealed but resources need to be made available to speed up the process.

Is Utah becoming another State of Maine? In Maine, the CPS agents scramble to remove children from their home only to be put through the system and adopted out. Maine CPS agents love large families and the younger the better. The parents are told to attend parenting workshops, obtain a job, get medical insurance for their kids and are even promised that if they do this they will get their children back. Parents have been known to loose their children because of the home not being totally clean- toys everywhere, beds unmade, normal everyday clutter. Those parents who still do all that they have been court ordered to do still loose their kids. The greatest coercion line- if you don't sign the TPR we will arrest you for sexually abusing your child even if the parent never has. There are big $$$ in taking children out of their homes only to later adopt them out. Adoption is wrong- it does mess a child's head up regardless of their age. I hope the grandmom of the 3y/o gets her grandson - he needs her.

What do they look for in the background checks?

Expediated kinship studies, and background checks, can be made if DCFS made it a priority
One of the biggest problems with DCFS is lack of experience in their caseworkers.
The turnover at DCFS is incredibly high.
Most caseworkers work for DCFS to get their foot in the door.
Then they tranfer to another department if they can.
DCFS trains its caseworkers to use "best practice" then the caseworkers ignor everything that they have learned.
or use the principles of best practice only when it suits their purposes.
From day one the caseworker is working to get the family to trust them while in the mean time preparing their case for termination of parental rights. They call this dual planning.
One of the scariest things about DCFS is that once a child is removed, whether that child goes back to their family, is more dependant on the caseworker,then the parent.
Many caseworkers seem to lack basic understandng and empathy for the families and children that they profess to protect.
People should not be afraid of the government. Prevention of child abuse is very necessary. I just don't know if the government is the best organization to deal with it.

Why can I get a background check by the Utah Buearu of Criminal Identification (BCI) in about 10 minutes (including FBI fingerprint check) but it takes DSF months to get it done. This is one of the most criminal government orginazations in the state at the worst and at best an incompentent group of sudo do gooders.

I think the one question that everyone here has is: Why is it taking soo long for DSF to get these background checks done? The problem isn't the law, the law is there for a reason, to protect the children. The problem is that whoever is in charge of the background checks are obviously not putting it on the top of their list, in the meantime these children are in the care of STRANGERS and feeling like no one in their family loves them. I work for a background screening company (Strategic Information Resources). We've been in business for over 75 years. We do thorough checks (not database only). We look directly into the court system. Our turnaround time is average 48-72 hours, which includes Sex Offender Search & many other searches. Why is it that we can do it in 48-72 hours but they are taking MONTHS to get it done. There is a flaw somewhere... and it needs to be taken more seriously! These children are going to ultimately be traumatized by this. I think if DSF can't get it done in a timely fashion, hire an outside company to do it! Thanks for reading!

If background checks are being done on grandparents or other relatives of a child taken out of a home. Does the same apply for a biological father? Grandparents or relatives cannot have felonies on their record, so why can a bio-father? Iam not sure I understand the process.