Utah Foster Care is is dedicated to finding, educating and supporting families to care for children in foster care.
For more than two decades, they've partnered with communities across the state to ensure children who have experienced abuse or neglect have safe, loving and stable homes.
Right now, about 1,700 children are in foster care across the state.
While the goal is always to return children to their biological relatives, in 2024 alone, 620 children found forever homes through adoption from foster care in Utah.
Jennie Sheperd, Director of Recruitment for Utah Foster Care, says every child's story is unique, but each one deserves connection, stability and a sense of belonging.
One of Utah Foster Care's new initiatives is to tell the real stories of foster care to educate the community about what it truly looks like - from kids, birth families, and foster parents.
"We're also promoting respectful language to reduce stigma and support healing, while showing how everyone can get involved—even if fostering isn't possible right now," Jennie says.
The need for foster families in Utah remains urgent, and you have the opportunity to hear directly from individuals with lived experience, including a former child in care, a birth parent, a kinship caregiver, and foster parents of diverse backgrounds at an upcoming event.
Entrata in Lehi | 4205 Chapel Ridge Rd., Lehi, UT
6:00–7:00 PM | Art Stroll – View art created by individuals of all ages connected to foster care. Connect with community members, foster families, and Utah Foster Care staff.
7:00–8:00 PM | Panel Discussions –
Identity Panel (7:00–7:30 PM)
Belonging Panel (7:30–8:00 PM)
For more information please visit: utahfostercare.org.
Miguel Roveria, with Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah, says becoming a foster parent is a selfless act of caring and giving, but it can also be a life-enriching rewarding experience for parents and their families.
Foster parents come in all shapes and sizes and can be married or single, already parents or empty nesters as well as individuals without children.
They can own a home or rent, be religious or not, and can be LGBTQ.
At Regence, they value Utah Foster Care as a community organization making a big difference for kids in need throughout the state.
