Fewer Utah children would be placed in foster homes under an ongoing effort to strengthen in-home services provided by the Division of Child and Family Services, a sought-after change in the state's care of children.
A state legislative audit in 2011 revealed a 38 percent increase in Utah foster care placements during the previous decade. The audit also showed that the number of families that received in-home support that enabled children to stay in their homes decreased by 40 percent over the same time period.
Those troubling numbers prompted a change in approach.
