DCFS case workers lag in response to thousands of child abuse and neglect reports, audit finds

SALT LAKE CITY— The Utah Division of Child and Family Services has a major oversight problem, and that’s led to issues with the handling of thousands of child abuse and neglect reports, according to a new legislative audit.

Legislative auditors presented the findings to the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee at the Utah State Capitol on Wednesday.

Auditors told lawmakers they reviewed more than 23,000 child abuse and neglect reports DCFS handled during fiscal year 2025. They found case workers failed to meet the state’s standard of getting eyes on the child within 24 hours more than 3,200 times.

The audit took note of a few specific cases, including one where it says a caseworker, “Waited for more than three months to respond to the first report about child endangerment and only acted after two more urgent reports came in about a severe injury to one of the children and a newborn that had tested positive for methamphetamine,” the audit reads.

The audit continued, “The subsequent casework progressed well for about one week, then the caseworker did no documented work until six months later when another referral came in. As the case continued to languish, one child was severely injured and exposed to illegal drugs. The injuries to the child were so severe that we believe the case should have been reported to the Office of Service Review for a near fatality review…but it never was. The details above represent gross oversights on the part of the division.”

Auditors also said they found multiple instances where a case worker never responded to a report of a child being abused.

Legislative Deputy Auditor General Brian Dean told lawmakers they don’t believe this is a staffing issue, but rather an oversight issue.

“We believe that the root cause of the shortcomings described…is an organizational culture in which some case workers and supervisors feel it is acceptable to cut corners without meaningful oversight or consequences,” Dean said. “Performance may never be perfect, but with something as important as child welfare…perfection needs to be our goal here.”

DCFS response

Following the auditors’ presentation, DFCS Director Tonya Myrup responded to the audit and answered lawmakers’ questions, as did Utah Department of Health and Human Services Executive Director Tracy Gruber. DCFS falls under the DHHS umbrella.

Gruber called the audit, “sobering.”

“We agree with all the recommendations in this audit,” Gruber told lawmakers. “Striving for perfection…has to be the goal, and nothing else, given the importance of this role, is acceptable. ”

Gruber said she doesn’t believe the system is failed or needs significant overhaul, but she did say, “We must make significant improvement.”

Gruber also told lawmakers, “The issues raised in this audit will be addressed.”

Myrup added, “The poor outcomes in the data are extremely concerning and we take this seriously,” she said. “The outcomes are unacceptable and DCFS is fully committed to making these improvements.”

Auditors recommended DCFS leadership define objectives, performance targets and set expectations for when case workers and supervisors fail to meet them. The audit also said supervisors should hold caseworkers accountable, and that leaders should, “Set a stronger tone at the top, embracing and modeling a culture of control in which high quality work is expected and low-quality work is routinely identified and corrected,” the audit reads.

Myrup told lawmakers they begun addressing the issues in the audit even before it was completed, and they are on a, “good track,” to have the recommendations implemented by July 1.

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