Utah County approves IDC innovation grant to pilot trauma‑informed parenting training for juvenile cases

Utah County commissioners voted Dec. 20 to accept an innovation grant awarded through the Indigent Defense Commission to pilot a trauma‑informed parenting program for parents involved in juvenile and child‑welfare proceedings.

Margaret Lindsay, assistant director of the Utah County Public Defender's Office and a member of the Indigent Defense Commission, described the project as a training effort for two social workers and an attorney to deliver and oversee a parenting program tailored to parents involved in DCFS and juvenile court cases. "It's to have training for our 2 social workers on that, that program so that we could share it with not only the parents that they are directly involved with on cases, but hopefully, a broader reach in our office as a whole," Lindsay said.

Lindsay said conventional parenting classes available to court‑ordered parents are generally general in nature and not trauma‑based. The grant is intended to provide trauma‑focused training so social workers and attorneys can better coordinate services with the Division of Child and Family Services, the attorney general's office and guardians ad litem. Lindsay noted the two social workers cover Utah County and surrounding counties in the Fourth District, and the pilot could be shared more broadly across the district.

A commissioner moved to approve item 46 with adjusted agenda language accepting the innovation grant for juvenile parenting courses; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote (recorded as passing 2–0). Commissioners asked clarifying questions about whether the grant would affect public‑defender representation; Lindsay answered it would enhance representation rather than impede it.

Next steps: staff will incorporate the grant into the juvenile division’s training plan and seek opportunities to scale the program across the Fourth District pending evaluation of the pilot.