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Children's Justice Center asks Utah County to bridge funding gap as statute change shifts workload to law enforcement
Summary
At a Utah County commission work session, the Children's Justice Center reported expanded services, sobering screening results and requested short-term county funding to sustain positions while the CJC and law enforcement adapt to a recent statute change reducing DCFS investigations.
Rebecca Martel presented the Children's Justice Center's 2020 annual report and budget request to the Board of County Commissioners, saying the center expanded services, opened a North County satellite in American Fork in June and is seeking county help to cover temporary funding gaps for existing staff.
Martel said the center provides multidisciplinary, child-focused responses under state statute and noted Utah County's population includes 32% residents under 18 — a driver of demand for services. She told commissioners the CJC reorganized into clinical (forensic interview) teams, treatment teams, medical staff and administrative support, and that services are now available in English and Spanish.
The presentation included recent screening and outcome data. "We had 442 children screened (initial and follow-up), 206 initial screenings," Martel said, and reported that "52 percent of them had high symptoms of trauma" and "46 percent of those children screened ... there was a concern for suicide." She said the center refers high-risk children to Wasatch Behavioral for treatment.
Martel also described the center's work tracking child-victim cases through the criminal justice system and convening monthly multidisciplinary staffings with law enforcement, prosecutors, DCFS and medical staff. She said about "25% of the cases that come through actually get that far where they're going to prosecute the case," and added that figure is typical statewide.
Commissioners and presenters discussed the CJC's funding mix. Martel said $300,000 in state funding originally approved for the center was retracted in the pandemic-era legislative session. As alternatives, the center secured two years of CARES funding through the Council on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (about $150,000 per year for staff) and $95,000 in VOCA funding for an additional forensic interviewer. She asked the county to consider covering the first six months of salary and benefits for an associate director position over North County and to reserve up to six months of support for the VOCA-funded forensic interviewer should other grants lapse.
A significant part of the discussion focused on a recent statutory change (referenced in the presentation as statute 62a-4a-409). Presenters explained the revision allows the Division of Child and Family Services to decline certain investigations when a non-offending caregiver can protect the child, a shift that removes some prior DCFS involvement. Estimated statewide impact ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 cases, which presenters said could translate to roughly 250–500 cases in Utah County. As a result, presenters said law enforcement may need to take on more of those investigations and the CJC will expand forensic interviewing and related support to assist detectives and prosecutors.
Martel described operational steps the center is taking: staffing the North County satellite with clinical coordinators, adding trauma and suicide screener personnel funded by CARES, expanding tele-mental-health treatment and implementing internal peer review to improve data accuracy. She highlighted successes during the pandemic — remaining open, new roofing and flooring at the Provo facility, and $240,000 in additional grant funding — while noting limits on fundraising (Friends board had raised about $5,000 so far) and reduced volunteer capacity.
On facilities, Martel said the Friends group has secured approximately $360,000 in CARES funds and $200,000 in Community Development Block Grant money toward purchasing a house in American Fork that would become a permanent North County location; she proposed continuing the county-maintenance lease model used in Provo (Friends own property; county provides maintenance and insurance).
Commissioners praised the clarity of the report and suggested the center set specific numeric targets for key metrics before year-end so outcomes can be measured against explicit goals. Martel accepted the recommendation and said she would follow up.
No formal votes or motions were made at the meeting. The board adjourned until 1 p.m.
