Utah Department of Health and Human Services receives $200K Child Welfare Research Training or Demonstration grant from the Administration for Children and Families

Utah live scan fingerprinting infrastructure modernization project - the Utah division of child and family services (dcfs) will implement the Utah live scan fingerprinting infrastructure modernization project, a 24-month initiative designed to explore implementing a hybrid service model using both stationary in-office and mobile models to reduce administrative bottlenecks and accelerate caregiver background clearances. Currently dcfs owns 18 mobile-capable live scan units, however, operational constraints keep them stationary in physical offices during standard business hours, this requires prospective caregivers to travel more causing barriers and delays. To resolve these barriers, dcfs will hire up to three dedicated, time-limited mobile live scan operators working flexible, non-traditional hours to conduct on-site fingerprinting directly in caregivers' homes and alternative community venues. This project will serve prospective kinship, adoptive, icpc, and traditional foster families statewide, prioritizing rural and high-barrier households under a two-tiered priority system that addresses high-urgency individual needs (such as medical limitations, developmental considerations, and pre-removal cases) while coordinating group-based community pop-ups. Ultimately, this modernization effort will help reduce fingerprint-based background check delays and barriers, facilitate quicker kinship safety assessments at the point of crisis, expand the state’s active pool of licensed caregivers, and advance the federal a home for every child initiative. If the project is successful, dcfs will sustain these improvements after the federal grant period by evaluating and integrating mobile responsibilities into existing personnel positions with natural touchpoints to the kinship process.