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DCFS director outlines training, supervisory changes and recruitment steps amid staffing and foster‑family challenges
Summary
DCFS Director Tanya Myroup told the oversight panel Oct. 17 the division is expanding training, supervisory supports and outreach to caregivers; turnover fell after recent pay increases but recruiting families for sibling groups and medically complex children remains challenging.
Tanya Myroup, director of the Division of Child and Family Services, told the Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel on Oct. 17 that DCFS is pursuing multiple strategies to improve caseworker performance and bolster foster‑family capacity.
Myroup described intake and training changes, supervision supports and new caregiver outreach measures. She said DCFS has implemented intake improvements after an efficiency evaluation by the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget and is conducting a recertification of the Utah Family and Child Evaluation Tool (UFACET) to strengthen family engagement and assessment. New supervisor tools and data dashboards are being used to monitor case progression and compliance.
On training, Myroup said new caseworkers undergo multi‑week classroom and field training that includes a live simulation home and an immersive virtual social‑worker trainer developed with the University of Utah. Caseworkers must complete annual continuing education (noted in the presentation as 20 hours per year) and are placed as primary caseworkers only after competency assessments.
Myroup described supervisory and performance processes: supervisors conduct quality‑assurance reviews, field observations and teamings; identified performance shortfalls may prompt additional training or a 90‑day practice improvement plan coordinated with human resources. "We don't want workers to feel like they have to cover up things, because we know that that can have a really negative impact on the work that we're doing," Myroup said, adding that DCFS aims to foster a learning environment rather than a culture of blame.
Panel members asked about compensation, morale and safety. Myroup thanked the legislature and governor for recent compensation increases and said turnover among frontline positions declined from the mid‑40s percentage range to the mid‑20s. She said the department is monitoring morale and offers peer support, counseling and safety planning, and that roughly 30 percent of former workers have returned after the pay changes.
Members also asked about protections for caseworkers after incidents of online doxxing or threats. Representative Acton noted recent concerns about images and video shared online. Myroup said protections were strengthened last year and that the department works with the attorney general's office to limit availability of worker information online and to obtain protective orders when needed.
On foster‑parent recruitment and availability, Myroup said DCFS has a strong base of foster parents but still struggles to find family homes for sibling groups, children with complex behavioral needs, and medically fragile children. The division has partnered with Utah Foster Care and with the first lady's care‑community initiative to expand supports. DCFS has introduced a "snapshot" tool to provide protected but more informative summaries of children for potential foster parents and said targeted recruitment remains ongoing.
Myroup offered legislative staff and panel members opportunities for immersions and shadowing to better understand front‑line practice and data. She reiterated that DCFS will act on OSR recommendations and provide additional data and analysis as requested by the panel.
The panel reserved further questions and asked DCFS and OSR to provide follow‑up materials.
