The Office of the Utah Legislative Auditor General presented a systemwide audit of the Department of Workforce Services (DWS) to the Economic Development and Workforce Services Interim Committee and recommended program adjustments to improve long‑term outcomes.

Auditors Auggie Lehman and Leah Blevins said DWS programs generally showed positive growth: unemployment and SNAP use fell among program participants and many programs placed participants into employment. The audit followed cohorts in WIOA and other workforce programs over five years and concluded that a portion of participants attained higher wages, although auditors said many participants remain below what auditors used as a single‑person living‑wage benchmark (the audit text identified $47,000 as a reference point for a single individual without dependents).

The auditors recommended that DWS analyze which interventions are most likely to produce living‑wage outcomes for participants and scale those practices. In the cohort analysis auditors reported about 9% of one WIOA cohort reached a living wage in five years; a TANF‑FEPT cohort showed a higher share (36%). Audit presenters and DWS representatives emphasized that DWS serves populations with multiple barriers — low skills, substance use and mental‑health issues — which complicates outcomes and program design.

Chapter 2 of the audit reviewed the Medicaid “unwinding” that followed the pandemic emergency, noting Utah’s recertification process included multiple client notification points and opportunities to provide information. The auditors said Utah had a relatively high share of “procedural terminations” (clients administratively removed for nonresponse) and that about 24% of those who were administratively terminated returned and were found eligible within 90 days.

DWS leaders thanked the audit team for a year‑long review and said the agency is working with auditors to implement recommendations. DWS officials highlighted services delivered statewide — including a no‑charge labor exchange, virtual job fairs with thousands of participants and partnerships with employer groups, chambers and local workforce partners — and reiterated that many clients served in person have complex barriers to stable employment.

Ending: The committee received the audit and DWS’s response; lawmakers and agency staff requested ongoing follow‑up on the audit’s implementation recommendations and data driven program adjustments.