Utah
What Utah reported to the federal government about the children in its custody and the children it investigated. Where a year says not reported, that is the record.
The funnel, FFY 2024
Utah vs. national
What happened to reports of child maltreatment in Utah in federal fiscal year 2024, at each decision point. Rates are what make states comparable; raw counts mostly measure population.
| Stage | Utah | Rate | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referrals to CPSCounts: referrals | 48,996 | 52.5per 1,000 children | 59.3 |
| Screened in (became reports)Counts: referrals | 22,19345.3% of referrals | — | 47.1% |
| Screened outCounts: referrals | 26,80354.7% of referrals | — | 52.9% |
| Children investigated or given an alternative responseCounts: children | 27,330 | 29.3per 1,000 children | 40.6 |
| Child victims (substantiated or indicated)Counts: children | 8,742 | 9.4per 1,000 children | 7.2 |
| Child fatalitiesCounts: children | 7 | 0.75per 100,000 children | 2.41 |
Referrals, reports, children, and victims are four different denominators and are not interchangeable. A referral may concern more than one child; a child may appear in more than one referral; a victim is a child with a substantiated or indicated disposition. National figures are the Children's Bureau's own estimates, not sums of the state rows.
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS), Tables 2-3, 3-1, 3-3, 4-1
What Utah does not report
For the measures on this page, Utah reported a figure in every year covered. That is not the same as the figures being complete or comparable — see the methodology for what the federal record does not measure at all.
Maltreatment and fatalities over time (NCANDS)
Child fatalities reported to NCANDS, Utah, FFY2020 to FFY2024
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)
KARA VerifiedChild Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)FFY 2024Counts: child fatalities
Child maltreatment victims, Utah, FFY2020 to FFY2024
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)
KARA VerifiedChild Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)FFY 2024Counts: child victims (substantiated or indicated)
Foster care (AFCARS)
| Measure | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adopted with public agency involvement | 587 | 605 | 695 | 632 | 665 | 818 | 639 | 518 | 560 | 556 |
| Entered foster care | 2,182 | 2,393 | 2,270 | 2,365 | 2,284 | 1,979 | 2,020 | 1,625 | 1,522 | 1,459 |
| Exited foster care | 2,172 | 2,071 | 2,406 | 2,159 | 2,108 | 2,263 | 2,084 | 1,721 | 1,751 | 1,501 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 2,709 | 2,960 | 2,704 | 2,838 | 2,954 | 2,611 | 2,488 | 2,373 | 2,119 | 2,067 |
| Children served in foster care | 4,881 | 5,031 | 5,110 | 4,997 | 5,062 | 4,874 | 4,572 | 4,094 | 3,870 | 3,568 |
| Termination of parental rights | 421 | 364 | 295 | 304 | 386 | 387 | 361 | 296 | 305 | 257 |
| Waiting for adoption | 612 | 629 | 594 | 630 | 802 | 728 | 684 | 686 | 698 | 585 |
Source: AFCARS state tables, FY2013 to FY2022
AFCARS 2020 rule, FFY2023 to FFY2025 (preliminary)
Collected under the AFCARS 2020 final rule, first effective FFY 2023. Counts include ages 0 to 23. Figures are preliminary estimates from submissions received by February 27, 2026, and states may still revise them. This series is not comparable with the FY 2013 to FY 2022 series, which was collected under the 1993 rule and counted a narrower population; this site does not join the two. Wyoming first submitted under the new rule for FFY 2024 and Washington for FFY 2025; earlier years for those states are shown as not reported.
| Measure | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entered foster care | 1,274 | 1,231 | 1,124 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 1,810 | 1,664 | 1,593 |
| Exited foster care | 1,464 | 1,351 | 1,175 |
Counts: children (ages 0 to 23)
Source: AFCARS Dashboard, preliminary FFY2025 estimates (No. 33)
Utah in the archive
What the numbers above cost, in KARA's own reporting.
- Overwhelmed Institutions & Public Policy
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJune 29, 2026
To be fair, what does an overwhelmed institution do when caseloads double and budgets are cut in half? Rural counties will always be underfunded, understaffed and unable to provide the level of service larger urban areas can with their larg...
- Why America’s Child Protection System Is Failing—and How to Fix It
KARA reportingMike TikkanenJune 8, 2026
America’s Child Protection System is producing the very harms it was meant to prevent: overflowing prisons, broken families, unsafe classrooms, and communities overwhelmed by untreated trauma. This post explains how secrecy, extreme caseloa...
- Essential Foster Care Videos and Podcasts: Powerful Resources for Foster Youth and Families
KARA reportingMike TikkanenMay 2, 2026
Aging Out of Foster Care: Hannah’s Story – Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Short video about abuse, instability in care, and aging out at 18, stressing that teens are never too old to need a permanent family.
- Essential Foster Care Videos and Podcasts: Powerful Resources for Foster Youth and Families
KARA reportingMike TikkanenFebruary 28, 2026
Aging Out of Foster Care: Hannah’s Story – Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Short video about abuse, instability in care, and aging out at 18, stressing that teens are never too old to need a permanent family.
- Egregious Child Death in America Today
KARA reportingMike TikkanenOctober 19, 2025
There are few states that report out egregious harm or death of children at the hands of their parents. Minnesota Nonprofit Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota has recently compiled this report on 88 of the 200 children dying at the hand...
- Child Abuse Sad Stories (4 days in October)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenOctober 9, 2025
37% of children overall and 44% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health 1.17) 7.8 million children a year are reported to child protection services.
- What's It Like Being A Foster Child In Child Protection? (podcast/video)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenSeptember 11, 2025
Think about being a foster child taken from the only home you have ever known because of the terrible things done to you by your parents. Waking up in a strange house or group home where you don't know anyone. A different school, no friends...
- Join KARA's Child Advocacy Team (& make your community's children safe)
KARA reportingMike TikkanenAugust 25, 2025
Ways for KARA readers to raise their voice for at risk children. The options in the Read More below provide direct impact, community building, and how to create policy change for at risk children where you live. Join KARA's team of follower...