Utah Gov. Cox signed HB283 shielding foster parents who refuse children and limiting care for youth in custody

On March 19, 2025, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed House Bill 283, "Child and Family Services Amendments," into law. Alongside general child-welfare changes, the statute altered how the state treats children in its custody in ways advocates warned would strip protections from LGBTQ+ youth. It prohibits the Division of Child and Family Services from placing a child with, or taking adverse action against, a foster parent who expresses discomfort with caring for a child, and it bars the division from initiating certain medical treatment or care for a child in its custody without written consent from the child's parent, guardian, or custodian.

The law further provides that a parent's approval or disapproval of a child's sexual orientation may not, by itself, be the basis for removing the child from the parent's custody, and that a juvenile court may not decline to provide reunification services based solely on a parent's agreement or disagreement with a child's sexual orientation or gender identity (amending sections of Utah Code Title 80). Chief sponsor Rep. Stephanie Gricius carried the bill through the 2025 General Session, where it passed the House 69-0 and the Senate 25-0 before reaching the governor's desk.

Taken together, the foster-parent "discomfort" shield, the bar on division-initiated medical care, and the limits on weighing a parent's stance toward a child's sexual orientation or gender identity operate to let caregivers and parents refuse to affirm LGBTQ+ children in state custody without consequence and to keep the state from intervening on those children's behalf. The measure was part of Utah's broader 2025 slate of legislation affecting transgender and LGBTQ+ residents.