Sections
Part 1 General Provisions 80-4-102 – 80-4-109
Part 2 Petition for Termination of Parental Rights 80-4-201 – 80-4-207
Part 3 Termination and Post-termination of Parental Rights 80-4-301 – 80-4-307
Part 4 Restoration of Parental Rights 80-4-401 – 80-4-402
Part 5 Safe Relinquishment of a Newborn Child 80-4-501 – 80-4-502

Ask a criminal law question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a criminal defense lawyer and protect your rights.

Terms Used In Utah Code > Title 80 > Chapter 4 - Termination and Restoration of Parental Rights

  • 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
  • Adjudication: means , except as provided in Subsection (3)(b):
              (3)(a)(i) for a delinquency petition or criminal information under Chapter 6, Juvenile Justice:
                   (3)(a)(i)(A) a finding by the juvenile court that the facts alleged in a delinquency petition or criminal information alleging that a minor committed an offense have been proved;
                   (3)(a)(i)(B) an admission by a minor in the juvenile court as described in Section 80-6-306; or
                   (3)(a)(i)(C) a plea of no contest by minor in the juvenile court; or
              (3)(a)(ii) for all other proceedings under this title, a finding by the juvenile court that the facts alleged in the petition have been proved. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Adult: means an individual who is 18 years old or older. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Bicycle: includes an electric assisted bicycle. See Utah Code 41-6a-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
  • Child and family plan: means a written agreement between a child's parents or guardian and the Division of Child and Family Services as described in Section 80-3-307. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Child-placing agency: means the same as that term is defined in Section 26B-2-101. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • committed: means , unless specified otherwise:
         (15)(a) with respect to a child, to transfer legal custody; and
         (15)(b) with respect to a minor who is at least 18 years old, to transfer custody. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Department: means the Department of Public Safety. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
  • Department: means the Department of Health and Human Services created in Section 26B-1-201. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • 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
  • Disposition: means an order by a juvenile court, after the adjudication of a minor, under Section 80-3-405 or 80-4-305 or Chapter 6, Part 7, Adjudication and Disposition. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Division: means the Division of Child and Family Services created in Section 80-2-201. See Utah Code 80-4-102
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • 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.
  • Failure of parental adjustment: means that a parent or parents are unable or unwilling within a reasonable time to substantially correct the circumstances, conduct, or conditions that led to placement of their child outside of their home, notwithstanding reasonable and appropriate efforts made by the division to return the child to the home. See Utah Code 80-4-102
  • Father: means a parent who is of the male sex. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Former parent: means an individual whose legal parental rights were terminated under this chapter. See Utah Code 80-4-102
  • 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
  • Highway: means the entire width between property lines of every way or place of any nature when any part of it is open to the use of the public as a matter of right for vehicular travel. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
  • Hospital: means a general acute hospital, as that term is defined in Section 26B-2-201, that is:
         (1)(a) equipped with an emergency room;
         (1)(b) open 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and
         (1)(c) employs full-time health care professionals who have emergency medical services training. See Utah Code 80-4-501
  • Indian child: means the same as that term is defined in Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Indian tribe: means the same as that term is defined in Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Indigent defense service provider: means the same as that term is defined in Section 78B-22-102. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Indigent defense services: means the same as that term is defined in Section 78B-22-102. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Indigent individual: means the same as that term is defined in Section 78B-22-102. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Legal custody: means a relationship embodying:
         (50)(a) the right to physical custody of the minor;
         (50)(b) the right and duty to protect, train, and discipline the minor;
         (50)(c) the duty to provide the minor with food, clothing, shelter, education, and ordinary medical care;
         (50)(d) the right to determine where and with whom the minor shall live; and
         (50)(e) the right, in an emergency, to authorize surgery or other extraordinary care. 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
  • Minor: means , except as provided in Sections 80-6-501, 80-6-901, and 80-7-102:
         (54)(a) a child; or
         (54)(b) an individual:
              (54)(b)(i)
                   (54)(b)(i)(A) who is at least 18 years old and younger than 21 years old; and
                   (54)(b)(i)(B) for whom the Division of Child and Family Services has been specifically ordered by the juvenile court to provide services because the individual was an abused, neglected, or dependent child or because the individual was adjudicated for an offense;
              (54)(b)(ii)
                   (54)(b)(ii)(A) who is at least 18 years old and younger than 25 years old; and
                   (54)(b)(ii)(B) whose case is under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court in accordance with Subsection 78A-6-103(1)(b); or
              (54)(b)(iii)
                   (54)(b)(iii)(A) who is at least 18 years old and younger than 21 years old; and
                   (54)(b)(iii)(B) whose case is under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court in accordance with Subsection 78A-6-103(1)(c). See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Motor vehicle: means a vehicle that is self-propelled and a vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails. See Utah Code 41-6a-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
  • Neglected child: means a child who has been subjected to neglect. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Newborn child: means a child who is approximately 30 days old or younger, as determined within a reasonable degree of medical certainty. See Utah Code 80-4-501
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Operate: means the same as that term is defined in Section 41-1a-102. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
  • Operator: means :
         (49)(a) a human driver, as defined in Section Utah Code 41-6a-102
  • Peace officer: means a peace officer authorized under Title 53, Chapter 13, Peace Officer Classifications, to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests for violations of traffic laws. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
  • Person: means :
         (24)(a) an individual;
         (24)(b) an association;
         (24)(c) an institution;
         (24)(d) a corporation;
         (24)(e) a company;
         (24)(f) a trust;
         (24)(g) a limited liability company;
         (24)(h) a partnership;
         (24)(i) a political subdivision;
         (24)(j) a government office, department, division, bureau, or other body of government; and
         (24)(k) any other organization or entity. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, governmental agency, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
  • Petition for termination of parental rights: means a petition filed in accordance with this chapter to terminate the parental rights of a parent. See Utah Code 80-4-102
  • Petition to restore parental rights: means a petition filed in accordance with this chapter to restore the rights of a parent with regard to a child. See Utah Code 80-4-102
  • Pole trailer: means a vehicle without motive power:
         (56)(a) designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached to the towing vehicle by means of a reach, or pole, or by being boomed or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle; and
         (56)(b) that is ordinarily used for transporting long or irregular shaped loads including poles, pipes, or structural members generally capable of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting connections. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. 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
  • Protective services: means expedited services that are provided:
         (67)(a) in response to evidence of neglect, abuse, or dependency of a child;
         (67)(b) to a cohabitant who is neglecting or abusing a child, in order to:
              (67)(b)(i) help the cohabitant develop recognition of the cohabitant's duty of care and of the causes of neglect or abuse; and
              (67)(b)(ii) strengthen the cohabitant's ability to provide safe and acceptable care; and
         (67)(c) in cases where the child's welfare is endangered:
              (67)(c)(i) to bring the situation to the attention of the appropriate juvenile court and law enforcement agency;
              (67)(c)(ii) to cause a protective order to be issued for the protection of the child, when appropriate; and
              (67)(c)(iii) to protect the child from the circumstances that endanger the child's welfare including, when appropriate:
                   (67)(c)(iii)(A) removal from the child's home;
                   (67)(c)(iii)(B) placement in substitute care; and
                   (67)(c)(iii)(C) petitioning the court for termination of parental rights. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Roadway: means that portion of highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
  • Semitrailer: means a vehicle with or without motive power:
              (67)(a)(i) designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle; and
              (67)(a)(ii) constructed so that some part of its weight and that of its load rests on or is carried by another vehicle. See Utah Code 41-6a-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
  • Supported: means a finding by the Division of Child and Family Services based on the evidence available at the completion of an investigation, and separate consideration of each allegation made or identified during the investigation, that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that abuse, neglect, or dependency occurred. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Temporary custody: means the same as that term is defined in Section 80-2-102. See Utah Code 80-4-102
  • Termination of parental rights: means the permanent elimination of all parental rights and duties, including residual parental rights and duties, by court order. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Therapist: means :
         (91)(a) an individual employed by a state division or agency for the purpose of conducting psychological treatment and counseling of a minor in the division's or agency's custody; or
         (91)(b) any other individual licensed or approved by the state for the purpose of conducting psychological treatment and counseling. See Utah Code 80-1-102
  • Trailer: means a vehicle with or without motive power designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that no part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • Truck: means a motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
  • Truck tractor: means a motor vehicle:
         (84)(a) designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles; and
         (84)(b) constructed to carry a part of the weight of the vehicle and load drawn by the truck tractor. See Utah Code 41-6a-102
  • United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Vehicle: means a device in, on, or by which a person or property is or may be transported or drawn on a highway, except a mobile carrier, as defined in Section 41-6a-1120, or a device used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Utah Code 41-6a-102