Community focused foster program comes to Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — A program focused on supporting new foster parents and families is officially launching in Utah on Wednesday after two years of successful testing.

The Care Communities program is meant to help foster families while also strengthening community bonds through service. A Care Team made up of eight to 10 people will help a family with errands, meals, or chores while everyone gets used to their new living arrangement.

The program came to the state largely thanks to Utah’s First Lady Abby Cox.

“She has done all of the advocacy to get donors to contribute so we could do a pilot to make sure this works,” Director Tami Carson said in an Instagram post. “[she has] figure[d] out what we might need to change about it, then advocated with legislators to make sure we have additional funding going on.”

The pilot program has been running the last two years. At least 44 children in foster care were helped, along with their foster families. Carson says this is not just a benefit for the parents, but the children as well.

“The children in their care now have safe adults in their lives who are an additional support in their family, so the impacts on their children in the home have been part of the good we have seen,” Carson said.

Forms to volunteer or sign up for the program can be found at Utah Foster Care’s website.

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