| Members Present: Sen. Keven J. Stratton, Senate Chair Rep. Raymond P. Ward, House Chair Rep. Doug Fiefia, Vice Chair Sen. Heidi Balderree Sen. Emily Buss Sen. Luz Escamilla Sen. Jen Plumb Sen. Todd Weiler Rep. Kristen Chevrier Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost Rep. Jake Fitisemanu | Rep. Stephanie Gricius Rep. Colin W. Jack Rep. Nicholeen P. Peck Members Absent: President J. Stuart Adams Rep. Tyler Clancy Staff Present: Sean C. Faherty, Finance Manager Russell T. Frandsen, Finance Officer Kevin Edminster, Financial Analyst An Bradshaw, Committee Secretary |
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Note: A copy of related materials and an audio recording of the meeting can be found at www.le.utah.gov.
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| 1.9:00 Call to Order |
| Chair Ward called the meeting to order at 9:04 a.m. |
| 2.9:05 Performance Audit - Division of Child and Family Services - Office of the Legislative Auditor General |
| 3a. 2026-03 DCFS - Final Report |
| Brian Dean, Deputy Auditor General, and Brody Bailey, Legislative Performance Auditor, Office of Legislative Auditor General, presented the audit of the Division of Child and Family Services. |
| Rep. Gricius asked if H.B.434 addresses some of the concerns found in the audit, and Brian Dean responded. |
| Rep. Fiefia asked if auditors consider the problems to lie primarily with frontline staff or with leadership, and Brain Dean responded. |
| Rep. Peck asked for more information about the response time from case workers, and Brody Bailey and Brian Dean respond. |
| Sen. Stratton thanked the auditors for the report. Sen. Stratton then asked for more information on case reports, and Brody Bailey and Brian Dean responded. |
| Sen. Plumb stated she had seen a lack of medical provider voices in the child welfare system. |
| Rep. Jack asked for a prioritization of reporting metrics, and Brody Bailey and Brian Dean responded. |
| Chair Ward asked for more information about a specific case, and Brian Dean responded. |
| Tracy Gruber, Executive Director, Tonya Myrup, Director of the Division of Child and Family Services, and Carrie Bambrough, Director of the Division of Continuous Quality and Improvement, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), responded to the audit. |
| Chair Ward asked about the dramatic change in a graph, and Carrie Bambrough explained. |
| Rep. Fiefia asked if the department considered the problems to be primarily a leadership issue, and Tonya Myrup responded. |
| Sen. Stratton said the benchmark goal needs to be 100%, rather than the standard 90%. |
| Chair Ward asked what counts as out of compliance, and Tonya Myrup responded. |
| 3.9:45 Data Privacy Audit - Department of Health and Human Services - Office of the State Auditor |
| 4a. DHHS Privacy Audit Report |
| Tina Cannon, State Auditor, and Alex Nielson, Data Analytics Manager, State Auditor's Office, presented the audit of the Department of Health and Human Services. |
| Rep. Chevrier asked for examples which demonstrate the inability to obtain records from DHHS, and Alex Nielson responded. |
| Sen. Stratton asked for the classifications of the recommendations, and Tina Cannon responded. |
| Chair Ward asked how controls are tracked, and Tina Cannon and Alex Nielson responded. |
| Rep. Fiefia asked why so many people were able to view the records of children, and Kyle Lunt responded. |
| Tracy Gruber, Kyle Lunt, Director of Data Systems and Evaluation, DHHS, and Patrick Thomas, Director of Information Privacy and Security, DHHS, responded to the audit. |
| Sen. Stratton asked how many privacy space audits the state has conducted, and Tina Cannon responded. |
| 4.10:25 Supplemental Motions from Subcommittee Members |
| Russell Frandsen and Sean Faherty discussed potential ad hoc motions. |
| MOTION:Sen. Stratton moved to approve the adjustments as made by staff on AZ9 and AZ10.The motion passed with a vote of 9-0-7. | |||
| Yeas - 9 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 7 | |
| Sen. H. Balderree Sen. E. Buss Rep. K. Chevrier Rep. D. Fiefia Rep. J. Fitisemanu Rep. N. Peck Sen. K. Stratton Rep. R. Ward Sen. T. Weiler | Sen. J. Adams Rep. T. Clancy Rep. J. Dailey-Provost Sen. L. Escamilla Rep. S. Gricius Rep. C. Jack Sen. J. Plumb |
| 5.9:00 Approval of Minutes |
| MOTION:Sen. Stratton moved to approve the minutes from the January 30, February 3, and February 5, 2026 meetings.The motion passed with a vote of 9-0-7. | |||
| Yeas - 9 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 7 | |
| Sen. H. Balderree Sen. E. Buss Rep. K. Chevrier Rep. D. Fiefia Rep. J. Fitisemanu Rep. N. Peck Sen. K. Stratton Rep. R. Ward Sen. T. Weiler | Sen. J. Adams Rep. T. Clancy Rep. J. Dailey-Provost Sen. L. Escamilla Rep. S. Gricius Rep. C. Jack Sen. J. Plumb |
| MOTION:Rep. Chevrier moved to adjourn.The motion passed with a vote of 9-0-7. | |||
| Yeas - 9 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 7 | |
| Sen. H. Balderree Sen. E. Buss Rep. K. Chevrier Rep. D. Fiefia Rep. J. Fitisemanu Rep. N. Peck Sen. K. Stratton Rep. R. Ward Sen. T. Weiler | Sen. J. Adams Rep. T. Clancy Rep. J. Dailey-Provost Sen. L. Escamilla Rep. S. Gricius Rep. C. Jack Sen. J. Plumb |
| Chair Ward adjourned the meeting at 10:55 a.m. |