Lawmakers working on new bills in response to death of West Haven boy

SALT LAKE CITY — Two lawmakers are moving forward to address the death of a 12-year-old West Haven boy with legislative action.

Prosecutors allege Gavin Peterson died of prolonged abuse. His father, stepmother, and oldest brother are charged with his July 9 death.

Representatives Tyler Clancy, (R) District 60, and Christine Watkins, (R) District 67, are proposing legislation aimed at several fronts.

Clancy is reviving a bill, proposed earlier this year, that would expand free school lunch programs to include students who qualify for reduced lunch. He also wants to streamline the application process for parents.

“We’ve heard from school lunch workers who went above and beyond their role and responsibility, and personally paid for lunch so that Gavin could eat lunch. We want to make sure that doesn’t get to that point, that there is a framework in place for hungry children to be fed at school,” Clancy said.

Clancy also wants to raise awareness about the resources law enforcement can provide when caseworkers or schools suspect a child is being abused.

“(Another) piece I would like to see work on is building trust between law enforcement, education, and DCFS. And also (training to understand) what rises to the level of criminal behavior,” Clancy said.

“Something as egregious as physical injuries, or a child is digging through the trash looking for something to eat, that is something where I believe law enforcement can act and hopefully, at the very least, provide more resources to the individuals who care,” Clancy continued.

Representative Watkins, House chair of the Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel which oversees the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS), is also working on a bill that deals with Child Protective Services (CPS) and how complaints of child abuse are handled.

“This is going to be a pretty complex bill,” Watkins said. “We’re looking at changing a lot of things or adding them to our process.”

Lawmaker demands answers from DCFS, proposes new bill to help

Inspired by the Franke/Hildebrandt case, Watkins wants to give caseworkers the ability to get a warrant to enter a home and physically check on a child.

“What can we do so that this doesn’t happen again, especially since we’d had a case before this, that we were lucky that those children did not die,” Watkins said.

And she wants more transparency and accountability when a complaint is reported to DCFS.

“When people contact DCFS, I’d like to have them reported back to,” Watkins said.

Under current DCFS policy, those who make a report can get information on whether a case was accepted, meaning it was sent to CPS  to investigate, or unaccepted, meaning it did not meet the threshold for a CPS investigation. Specific details on the case or investigation are protected by child privacy laws.

Watkins also wants the bill to address gaps when a student who may be a victim of abuse is withdrawn from school.

“That should be a red flag that we need to continue to watch that child at home,” Watkins said.

“We’re looking at what we can do, by law, that says to parents ‘You have a right to homeschool, but we also have the right to check on the welfare of that child.’”

In both instances, Gavin’s case and the Franke/Hildebrandt case, the children were withdrawn from school under the state’s homeschooling laws.

“I think for a long time, we’ve swung towards the rights of parents being able to educate their children. We think the pendulum needs to come back a little more toward the center, to protect the rights of children,” Watkins said. “It not easy, but we have some (parents) that obviously go off the rails and it’s detrimental to children.”

Watkins said the bill will also be influenced by the findings of DCFS’ investigation into Gavin Peterson’s case.

DCFS Investigation

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is expected to brief the Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel on Gavin Peterson’s case, specifically its investigation into allegations that complaints filed on behalf of the 12-year-old went unanswered, during its yearly fatality review report hearing.

“I don’t even know everything yet. DCFS is still doing a lot of research,” Watkins said.

Case-specific details are shared during the closed-door portion of the hearing, but feedback that would require changes in state law is shared in an open hearing afterward.

Watkins said the panel will share as much information with the public as they are able to disclose.

“It’s not going to be a secret. We want people to know what happened,” Watkins said.

The hearing initially expected for September will now be held in October to allow more time for a thorough investigation.

“The Utah Department of Health and Human Services made this request to allow time for the DHHS Fatality Review Committee to conduct a thorough review and to ensure complete information can be shared with the Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel (CWLOP),” DCFS said in a statement.

DCFS Full Statement:

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) made this request to allow time for the DHHS Fatality Review Committee to conduct a thorough review and to ensure complete information can be shared with the Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel (CWLOP). The opportunity to share a complete and thorough report with the CWLOP ensures our time spent is productive, and centered around complete information. Part of the information shared during the CWLOP hearing includes any recommendations, if any, from the DHHS Fatality Review Committee after a fatality review has been completed. The fatality review report and response is shared with the CWLOP during the closed portion of this hearing.

The DHHS Fatality Review Committee is waiting on finalized information from other agencies within the system to conduct their review. Postponing the hearing ensures the Fatality Review Committee has time to receive all of the necessary information to conduct a thorough and comprehensive review, write their report, and provide recommendations, if any, to DCFS. This additional time also allows the Fatality Review Committee to ensure the correct partners participate, also allowing for a more thorough and complete review.

DHHS is committed to providing our legislators full and accurate information. We appreciate the CWLOP’s willingness to postpone the hearing to ensure the DHHS Fatality Review Committee is able to complete the fatality review.