Safe children, strengthened families, supported workforce throughout all of Utah and 1 more...
DCFS Proportion of days of service provided in family-based care, for custody youth served
Current Value
89%
Definition
Measure Definition
| This measure represents the percentage of days of children and youth are served in family based settings with consistent substitute caregivers who provide primary care for children and youth who are placed there. |
|
FY18-FY22 Baseline |
89.9% |
|
Two-Year Goal (15%) |
91.4% |
|
Five-Year Goal (25%) |
92.4% |
Data is reported six weeks after the end of each quarter to allow time for data entry by direct service and support staff.
Story Behind the Curve
DCFS aims to serve children in their own homes or with relatives whenever it is safe to do so. If placement with relatives is not possible, the preferred alternative is a family-based environment, such as foster care or proctor care. Settings that are not family-based and have rotating staff are intended only for short-term stabilization and do not offer long-term stability or permanency. The goal is to minimize the number of days children and youth in care spend in these non-family-based settings with rotating staff.
This measure declined from about 90% in FY 2020 to 79.94% in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, then rose to 88.76% in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026. This measure is one of several affected by DCFS's transition to a new database. Family-based status is now determined by whether the caregiver link identifies the provider as family-based; previously this was determined by service code. This change in methodology affects comparability with prior quarters and should be considered when interpreting the trend. Availability of foster and proctor homes able and willing to receive placements for teenagers, medically fragile children and youth, and those who may struggle with aggressive or problematic sexual behaviors continues to be a challenge. DCFS continues to engage with the Youth Provider Association and Utah Foster Care to address recruitment, reassess contracts, and increase provider rates to address this deficit of homes. DCFS's FY2026 RBA includes tactics for developing and implementing a communication mechanism for contracted foster care training/recruitment/retention providers to notify potential placements as needs arise. In addition, DCFS is working with Utah Foster Care through monthly meetings at the state and region levels and reviewing reports to develop steps to improve identification, recruitment, and support to meet the individual and/or unique needs of children.
Clear Impact Suite is an easy-to-use, web-based software platform that helps your staff collaborate with external stakeholders and community partners by utilizing the combination of data collection, performance reporting, and program planning.