SALT LAKE CITY—Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah First Lady Abby Cox have been dedicated to taking care of children in foster care and foster care families through the state’s nationally recognized “care communities.” The approach focuses on providing foster families with a network of support. 

To continue that mission, Cox signed a joint proclamation on April 30 with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to join the national “A Home for Every Child” initiative. The governor also ceremonially signed HB 108, Minors in State Custody Amendments, sponsored by Rep. Doug Fiefia and Sen. Todd Weiler.

“Utah is pleased to join the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and its efforts to improve outcomes for children in state custody here in Utah and nationwide,” said Cox. “Utah has always focused on our kids and improving opportunities for them.”

Joining the national initiative is key to opening doors to opportunity, he said. “I think most of you know that our amazing First Lady Abby has been deeply involved in being a constant champion for the care communities and children in our foster care system.”

“Care communities” is an opportunity to support families who are fostering kids in Utah, said Gov. Cox. “Unfortunately, we have a lot of burnout. It’s heavy work. It’s hard work and these kids are the most vulnerable and they deserve our support.”

Every child deserves a family who loves them and cares for them, he said. “We’re so lucky to have these care communities who are supporting the families who need some help. The idea is we’re going to surround every one of our foster families with eight to 10 other families who can support them, providing a pizza on Friday night, giving rides to soccer practice, being mentors to these kids that are in the foster program and just making sure that they get the most positive outcomes possible.”

“I’m thrilled to welcome Utah as the 17th state to join A Home for Every Child,” said Assistant Secretary for Family Support Alex J. Adams. “Nationwide we have too few foster homes. So we have 100 foster kids coming into the system but we only have 57 homes to care for them. We can do better and we must do better.”

This is not just a math problem, he said. “We don’t have enough homes for children. Children get placed in non-traditional settings. They get placed in Airbnbs, hotels and other locations that are not conducive to a child’s development.”

Utah is an absolutely outstanding model for what other states should be looking at in terms of how to get their ratios up, said Adams. “You can get the ratio up by boosting your number of foster homes or you can shrink the number of kids coming into foster care, or shorten the length of stay for those already in care.”

Adams said this is not a problem that states can recruit their way out of. “If you are not retaining the high quality, loving foster homes that you have you will never recruit your way out of that.”

First Lady Cox and Gov. Cox has created a very unique and innovative model to wrap around foster families, support them and ensure that there is less burnout and ensure that they don’t have feelings of being overwhelmed which is too often the case, he said. “Your existing foster parents need support. I love what Utah is doing and I think it’s a model that other states would be wise to emulate.”

“This is really, really good policy,” said Weiler of HB108. “I shudder to think these foster kids when they turn 18 they get turned out into the street. What’s going to happen to them that first night, that second night, that third night?”

 None of those are good scenarios, he said. “Drugs and prostitution and everything is what they’re facing and they’re going to have trauma that’s going to shape the rest of their adult lives. So I love this idea. It only makes sense.”

“If we truly care about the future of our state and we care about our kids, this should be our number one priority and our biggest focus,” said Gov. Cox. “It really does take all of us to help make up for the deficiencies that these young people are facing.”