(1) When an abuse, neglect, or dependency petition is filed, the juvenile court shall apply, in addressing the petition, the least restrictive means and alternatives available to accomplish a compelling state interest and to prevent irretrievable destruction of family life as described in Subsections 80-2a-201(1) and (7)(a) and Section 80-4-104.
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Terms Used In Utah Code 80-3-204

  • Abuse: means :
              (1)(a)(i)
                   (1)(a)(i)(A) nonaccidental harm of a child;
                   (1)(a)(i)(B) threatened harm of a child;
                   (1)(a)(i)(C) sexual exploitation;
                   (1)(a)(i)(D) sexual abuse; or
                   (1)(a)(i)(E) human trafficking of a child in violation of Section Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Adult: means an individual who is 18 years old or older. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Child: means , except as provided in Section 80-2-905, an individual who is under 18 years old. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Clandestine laboratory operation: means the same as that term is defined in Section 58-37d-3. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Custody: means the same as that term is defined in Section 80-2-102. See Utah Code 80-3-102
  • dependency: means a child who is without proper care through no fault of the child's parent, guardian, or custodian. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Detention: means home detention or secure detention. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Division: means the Division of Child and Family Services created in Section 80-2-201. See Utah Code 80-3-102
  • Educational neglect: means that, after receiving a notice of compulsory education violation under Section 53G-6-202, the parent or guardian fails to make a good faith effort to ensure that the child receives an appropriate education. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Guardian: means a person appointed by a court to make decisions regarding a minor, including the authority to consent to:
         (35)(a) marriage;
         (35)(b) enlistment in the armed forces;
         (35)(c) major medical, surgical, or psychiatric treatment; or
         (35)(d) legal custody, if legal custody is not vested in another individual, agency, or institution. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Guardian ad litem: means the same as that term is defined in Section 78A-2-801. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Harm: means :
         (37)(a) physical or developmental injury or damage;
         (37)(b) emotional damage that results in a serious impairment in the child's growth, development, behavior, or psychological functioning;
         (37)(c) sexual abuse; or
         (37)(d) sexual exploitation. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Mental illness: means :
         (53)(a) a psychiatric disorder that substantially impairs an individual's mental, emotional, behavioral, or related functioning; or
         (53)(b) the same as that term is defined in:
              (53)(b)(i) the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association; or
              (53)(b)(ii) the current edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Natural parent: includes the minor's noncustodial parent. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Neglect: means action or inaction causing:
              (58)(a)(i) abandonment of a child, except as provided in Chapter 4, Part 5, Safe Relinquishment of a Newborn Child;
              (58)(a)(ii) lack of proper parental care of a child by reason of the fault or habits of the parent, guardian, or custodian;
              (58)(a)(iii) failure or refusal of a parent, guardian, or custodian to provide proper or necessary subsistence or medical care, or any other care necessary for the child's health, safety, morals, or well-being;
              (58)(a)(iv) a child to be at risk of being neglected or abused because another child in the same home is neglected or abused;
              (58)(a)(v) abandonment of a child through an unregulated child custody transfer under Section 78B-24-203; or
              (58)(a)(vi) educational neglect. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Physical abuse: means abuse that results in physical injury or damage to a child. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Property: includes both real and personal property. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Protective custody: means the shelter of a child by the Division of Child and Family Services from the time the child is removed from the home until the earlier of:
         (66)(a) the day on which the shelter hearing is held under Section 80-3-301; or
         (66)(b) the day on which the child is returned home. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Relative: means an adult who:
         (6)(a) is the child's grandparent, great grandparent, aunt, great aunt, uncle, great uncle, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepparent, first cousin, stepsibling, or sibling;
         (6)(b) is a first cousin of the child's parent;
         (6)(c) is a permanent guardian or natural parent of the child's sibling; or
         (6)(d) in the case of a child who is an Indian child, is an extended family member as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act, Utah Code 80-3-102
  • Sexual abuse: means :
         (79)(a) an act or attempted act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, incest, or molestation by an adult directed towards a child;
         (79)(b) an act or attempted act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, incest, or molestation committed by a child towards another child if:
              (79)(b)(i) there is an indication of force or coercion;
              (79)(b)(ii) the children are related, as described in Subsection (39), including siblings by marriage while the marriage exists or by adoption;
              (79)(b)(iii) there have been repeated incidents of sexual contact between the two children, unless the children are 14 years old or older; or
              (79)(b)(iv) there is a disparity in chronological age of four or more years between the two children;
         (79)(c) engaging in any conduct with a child that would constitute an offense under any of the following, regardless of whether the individual who engages in the conduct is actually charged with, or convicted of, the offense:
              (79)(c)(i) Title 76, Chapter 5, Part 4, Sexual Offenses, except for Section 76-5-401, if the alleged perpetrator of an offense described in Section 76-5-401 is a minor;
              (79)(c)(ii) child bigamy, Section Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Sexual exploitation: means knowingly:
         (80)(a) employing, using, persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing any child to:
              (80)(a)(i) pose in the nude for the purpose of sexual arousal of any individual; or
              (80)(a)(ii) engage in any sexual or simulated sexual conduct for the purpose of photographing, filming, recording, or displaying in any way the sexual or simulated sexual conduct;
         (80)(b) displaying, distributing, possessing for the purpose of distribution, or selling material depicting a child:
              (80)(b)(i) in the nude, for the purpose of sexual arousal of any individual; or
              (80)(b)(ii) engaging in sexual or simulated sexual conduct; or
         (80)(c) engaging in any conduct that would constitute an offense under Section 76-5b-201, sexual exploitation of a minor, or Section Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Shelter: means the temporary care of a child in a physically unrestricted facility pending a disposition or transfer to another jurisdiction. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
(2) After an abuse, neglect, or dependency petition is filed, if the child who is the subject of the petition is not in protective custody, a juvenile court may order that the child be removed from the child’s home or otherwise taken into protective custody if the juvenile court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that any one or more of the following circumstances exist:

     (2)(a)

          (2)(a)(i) there is an imminent danger to the physical health or safety of the child; and
          (2)(a)(ii) the child’s physical health or safety may not be protected without removing the child from the custody of the child’s parent or guardian;
     (2)(b)

          (2)(b)(i) a parent or guardian engages in or threatens the child with unreasonable conduct that causes the child to suffer harm; and
          (2)(b)(ii) there are no less restrictive means available by which the child’s emotional health may be protected without removing the child from the custody of the child’s parent or guardian;
     (2)(c) the child or another child residing in the same household has been, or is considered to be at substantial risk of being, physically abused, sexually abused, or sexually exploited, by a parent or guardian, a member of the parent’s or guardian’s household, or other individual known to the parent or guardian;
     (2)(d) the parent or guardian is unwilling to have physical custody of the child;
     (2)(e) the child is abandoned or left without any provision for the child’s support;
     (2)(f) a parent or guardian who has been incarcerated or institutionalized has not arranged or cannot arrange for safe and appropriate care for the child;
     (2)(g)

          (2)(g)(i) a relative or other adult custodian with whom the child is left by the parent or guardian is unwilling or unable to provide care or support for the child;
          (2)(g)(ii) the whereabouts of the parent or guardian are unknown; and
          (2)(g)(iii) reasonable efforts to locate the parent or guardian are unsuccessful;
     (2)(h) subject to Subsection 80-1-102(58)(b) and Sections 80-3-109 and 80-3-304, the child is in immediate need of medical care;
     (2)(i)

          (2)(i)(i) a parent’s or guardian’s actions, omissions, or habitual action create an environment that poses a serious risk to the child’s health or safety for which immediate remedial or preventive action is necessary; or
          (2)(i)(ii) a parent’s or guardian’s action in leaving a child unattended would reasonably pose a threat to the child’s health or safety;
     (2)(j) the child or another child residing in the same household has been neglected;
     (2)(k) the child’s natural parent:

          (2)(k)(i) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes the death of another parent of the child;
          (2)(k)(ii) is identified by a law enforcement agency as the primary suspect in an investigation for intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing the death of another parent of the child; or
          (2)(k)(iii) is being prosecuted for or has been convicted of intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing the death of another parent of the child;
     (2)(l) an infant is an abandoned infant, as defined in Section 80-4-203;
     (2)(m)

          (2)(m)(i) the parent or guardian, or an adult residing in the same household as the parent or guardian, is charged or arrested pursuant to Title 58, Chapter 37d, Clandestine Drug Lab Act; and
          (2)(m)(ii) any clandestine laboratory operation was located in the residence or on the property where the child resided; or
     (2)(n) the child’s welfare is otherwise endangered.
(3)

     (3)(a) For purposes of Subsection (2)(a), if a child has previously been adjudicated as abused, neglected, or dependent, and a subsequent incident of abuse, neglect, or dependency occurs involving the same substantiated abuser or under similar circumstance as the previous abuse, that fact is prima facie evidence that the child cannot safely remain in the custody of the child’s parent.
     (3)(b) For purposes of Subsection (2)(c):

          (3)(b)(i) another child residing in the same household may not be removed from the home unless that child is considered to be at substantial risk of being physically abused, sexually abused, or sexually exploited as described in Subsection (2)(c) or Subsection (3)(b)(ii); and
          (3)(b)(ii) if a parent or guardian has received actual notice that physical abuse, sexual abuse, or sexual exploitation by an individual known to the parent has occurred, and there is evidence that the parent or guardian failed to protect the child, after having received the notice, by allowing the child to be in the physical presence of the alleged abuser, that fact is prima facie evidence that the child is at substantial risk of being physically abused, sexually abused, or sexually exploited.
(4)

     (4)(a) For purposes of Subsection (2), if the division files an abuse, neglect, or dependency petition, the juvenile court shall consider the division’s safety and risk assessments described in Section 80-2-403 to determine whether a child should be removed from the custody of the child’s parent or guardian or should otherwise be taken into protective custody.
     (4)(b) The division shall make a diligent effort to provide the safety and risk assessments described in Section 80-2-403 to the juvenile court, guardian ad litem, and counsel for the parent or guardian, as soon as practicable before the shelter hearing described in Section 80-3-301.
(5) In the absence of one of the factors described in Subsection (2), a juvenile court may not remove a child from the parent’s or guardian’s custody on the basis of:

     (5)(a) educational neglect, truancy, or failure to comply with a court order to attend school;
     (5)(b) mental illness or poverty of the parent or guardian;
     (5)(c) disability of the parent or guardian, as defined in Section 57-21-2; or
     (5)(d) the possession or use, in accordance with Title 26B, Chapter 4, Part 2, Cannabinoid Research and Medical Cannabis, of cannabis in a medicinal dosage form, a cannabis product in a medicinal dosage form, or a medical cannabis device, as those terms are defined in Section 26B-4-201.
(6) A child removed from the custody of the child’s parent or guardian under this section may not be placed or kept in detention, unless the child may be admitted to detention under Chapter 6, Part 2, Custody and Detention.
(7) This section does not preclude removal of a child from the child’s home without a warrant or court order under Section 80-2a-202.
(8)

     (8)(a) Except as provided in Subsection (8)(b), a juvenile court and the division may not remove a child from the custody of the child’s parent or guardian on the sole or primary basis that the parent or guardian refuses to consent to:

          (8)(a)(i) the administration of a psychotropic medication to a child;
          (8)(a)(ii) a psychiatric, psychological, or behavioral treatment for a child; or
          (8)(a)(iii) a psychiatric or behavioral health evaluation of a child.
     (8)(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (8)(a), a juvenile court or the division may remove a child under conditions that would otherwise be prohibited under Subsection (8)(a) if failure to take an action described under Subsection (8)(a) would present a serious, imminent risk to the child’s physical safety or the physical safety of others.
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