Utah Earns "F" for Not Disclosing Child Abuse Information

Apr 29, 2008 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) Utah received a failing grade in a national report released Tuesday for not disclosing information about fatal and near fatal child abuse cases. Reaction to the report is mixed. Department of Human Services spokeswoman Liz Sollis says the results are misleading, but she also acknowledges the state could do better.

"We appreciate the fact that there's attention placed on the matter because it is important and it does help us to look at how we can improve things," Sollis says. "One of the things we learned is that we could improve our on-line accessibility and search features, so that people can find this information when they are looking for it without having to really dig through the system."

The report faulted the state for not having a law that requires the disclosure of both fatalities and near fatalities in child abuse cases. The agency's annual Fatality Report is posted on the Offices of Services Review Web site. It includes the number of children who die from abuse, but does not include near deaths. Sollis says this is an opportunity to re-examine the agency's process of disclosing child abuse information and improve it, if necessary. She says such improvements could include making the current policy of disclosing fatalities a law and adding a rule for tracking near fatalities. The study's authors say disclosing such information is important to hold state agencies accountable to taxpayers and child advocates. Though, Prevent Child Abuse Utah Director Anne Freimuth defends the Department of Human Services. She says the narrow focus of the report failed to capture areas where the state is ahead of the nation for enacting strict child abuse laws and creating programs to strengthen families.

"The Division of Child and Family Services or the Department of Human Services is a very easy target for people to point their fingers at whenever something isn't the way they like it," Freimuth says. "It's either not enough information, too much information, you know. And it's a balancing act for them."

The report was authored by child advocate group First Star and the Children's Advocacy Institute of the University of San Diego School of Law. Utah was one of 10 states to receive a failing grade. Click here for the report and click here for the Department of Human Services 2007 Fatality Report.

Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2008 KCPW