FY 2016 Appropriation

The Office of Services Review has the following primary functions:

The Office of Services Review (OSR) coordinates and monitors the department's efforts to comply with state and federal regulations, court rulings, and policies. Utah Code 62A-4a-118 requires the department to review a random sample of child welfare referral cases in the Division of Child and Family Services. The results must be reported annually to the Legislative Auditor General and the Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel. The review includes quality control and compliance reviews of child protective services programs and foster care cases. OSR conducts program reviews in other divisions within the department as directed by the department director. OSR also performs fatality reviews regarding deaths of individuals in the care and/or custody of various agencies within the department.

Office of Child Protection Ombudsman (OCPO) investigates complaints filed against the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) and makes recommendations regarding the findings of those investigations. OCPO determines whether an act or omission of DCFS with respect to a child: 1) places a child's health or safety at risk, 2) has adequate documentation to support the removal or placement of the child, or 3) is contrary to statute, rule, or policy. The office was codified in statute during the 1998 General Session of the Legislature and this language can be found at 62A-4a-208.

Funding History
Appropriation Overview

During the 2015 General Session, the Legislature appropriated for Fiscal Year 2016, $1,520,000 from all sources for Office of Services Review. This is a 2.7 percent increase from Fiscal Year 2015 revised estimated amounts from all sources. The total includes $689,500 from the General/Education Funds, an increase of 1.9 percent from revised Fiscal Year 2015 estimates.

Staff Analysis

For the most recent completed fiscal year, the following information represents the purposes for which the money was used:

Office of Services Review Detailed Purposes

Double-read (reviewed) case process reviews will be accurate

% Child Ombudsman recommendations implemented

Intent Language

HB0003: Item 88

The Legislature intends the Department of Human Services and the Department of Human Resource Management provide information to the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst no later than June 1, 2015 regarding the following: 1) a listing of programs throughout the Department of Human Services by agency and by program documenting where drug testing of job applicants is taking place as well as where drug testing of job applicants is not currently taking place and 2) any formal or informal state policies regarding the use or discouragement of drug testing of job applicants.


HB0003: Item 88

The Legislature intends that the Department of Human Services prepare proposed performance measures for all new state funding or TANF federal funds for building blocks and give this information to the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst by June 30, 2015. At a minimum the proposed measures should include those presented to the Subcommittee during the requests for funding. If the same measures are not included, a detailed explanation as to why should be included. The Department of Human Services shall provide its first report on its performance measures to the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst by October 31, 2015. The Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst shall give this information to the legislative staff of the Health and Human Services Interim Committee.


HB0003: Item 88

The Legislature intends the departments of Health, Human Services, and Workforce Services and the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation provide to the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst by June 1, 2015 a report outlining how funds are distributed within the state when passed through to local government entities or allocated to various regions and how often these distributions are reviewed and altered to reflect the relevant factors associated with the programs. (1) Is the program considered a statewide program (this would include something that serves all rural areas)? a. Is the implementation of the program really statewide? If not, is there a compelling reason why? (2) Who gets the money (by county)? (3) What is the methodology for distributing the money? a. How does the distribution compare to actual need as expressed by population? i. [If distributions are not reflecting current need (as represented by population), please explain why not?] b. If not done by population, what is the reason? (4) Does statute say anything about distribution and equity for the program?


SB0002: Item 81

The Legislature intends the Department of Human Services (DHS) report to the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst by September 1, 2015 regarding its efforts and progress in addressing each specific recommendation contained in the Office of the Legislative Auditor General's "An In-Depth Budget Review of the Department of Human Services" (No. 2014-09) released in October of 2014. If there are any recommendations DHS is not addressing, the Legislature further intends DHS explain why it is not addressing those recommendations. The Legislature further intends DHS identify specific savings resulting from its process improvement efforts.


SB0002: Item 81

The Legislature intends that the Department of Human Services prepare proposed performance measures for all new state funding or TANF federal funds for building blocks and give this information to the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst by June 30, 2015. At a minimum the proposed measures should include those presented to the Subcommittee during the requests for funding. If the same measures are not included, a detailed explanation as to why should be included. The Department of Human Services shall provide its first report on its performance measures to the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst by October 31, 2015. The Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst shall give this information to the legislative staff of the Health and Human Services Interim Committee.


SB0002: Item 81

The Legislature intends the Departments of Workforce Services, Health, Human Services, and the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation provide a report regarding each agency's highest cost individuals and possible efficiencies through coordination, early intervention, and prevention. The Legislature further intends these agencies provide a report to the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst by September 1, 2015. The report shall include the following regarding high cost individuals: 1) a summary, by program, of individuals receiving services in excess of $100,000 total fund annually in any given agency, what percentage of total costs is spent on these individuals, and what the agency is doing to manage these costs in an efficient manner, 2) an assessment of these high cost individuals receiving services from multiple agencies, 3) a description of agency coordination regarding high cost individuals accompanied by a list of areas where agencies specifically coordinate on these high cost individuals, 4) recommendations regarding how best to serve these high cost individuals in least restrictive settings where appropriate and consistent with choice, and 5) recommendation on how agency efforts might better be coordinated across programs.


SB0003: Item 129

The $300,000 in federal funds appropriated for the Marriage Commission in the Department of Human Services in the Executive Director Operations line item is dependent upon the availability of and qualification for the Marriage Commission for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families federal funds.


SB0003: Item 129

Under Section 63J-1-603 of the Utah Code the Legislature intends that up to $75,000 funds provided by Item 37, Chapter 13, Laws of Utah 2014 not otherwise designated as nonlapsing to the Department of Human Services - Executive Director Operations line item shall not lapse at the close of Fiscal Year 2015. The use of any nonlapsing funds is for respite care for individuals with disabilities in the Division of Services for People with Disabilities.


SB0007S01: Item 26

The Legislature intends that the Department of Human Services report on the following performance measures for the Executive Director Operations line item: (1) Corrected department-wide reported fiscal issues - per reporting process and June 30 quarterly report involving Bureaus of Finance and Internal Review and Audit (Target = 70%), (2) Percentage of initial foster care homes licensed within 3 months of training completion (Target = 60%), and (3) double-read (reviewed) Case Process Reviews will be accurate in The Office of Service Review (Target = 90%) by January 1, 2016 to the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee.


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COBI contains unaudited data as presented to the Legislature by state agencies at the time of publication. For audited financial data see the State of Utah's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.