Months after three Utahns with disabilities died while in the care of Safe and Sound Services, a watchdog organization has released a report pointing to what it views as lacking state oversight that contributed to the tragedy. The company's license has since been revoked, and a caretaker has been charged with murder.
The Disability Law Center (DLC) released its report, titled “Profits Over People,” on Monday, asserting that the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) allowed “high risk providers” with significant budgets to serve individuals with complex support needs “without appropriate oversight and accountability.” According to Nate Crippes, the DLC's public affairs supervising attorney, the report reiterates criticisms the agency has been raising for more than a decade.
The center's report claims the state agency should have recognized Safe and Sound Services as a “dangerous provider,” noting that the Department of Health and Human Services had received prior reports of issues such as physical assaults and failures to provide necessary medical care for injuries before the three men died last winter. The DLC report also states that DHHS inspections conducted in the years leading up to the tragedy found employees worked with clients unsupervised despite not having completed required background checks, among other concerns. However, the report points out that these evaluations were reportedly conducted either remotely or at times when no clients were present, which the center said gave inspectors little opportunity to directly engage with clients and observe the company’s service administration firsthand.
Following the men’s deaths, the department conducted checks on Safe and Sound Services’ residential sites and, according to the report, noted a variety of issues. These included a foul smell and no heat or running water in one location, staff admitting to locking residents in a basement at night in another, and employees reporting a resident returned from a day program with a broken tooth, black eyes, and scratches on his neck. The DLC’s report stated that these complaints demonstrated the provider was not using appropriated funds to provide even basic utilities or a clean environment, and that staffing ratios were dangerously low and insufficient for the contracted care.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not make its executive director, Tracy Gruber, or any other administrator available for an interview on Monday. In an unsigned statement, the department said that “the stories outlined in the Disability Law Center’s report weigh heavily on us. When safety is compromised and lives are lost, we feel it deeply. We absolutely agree that taxpayer dollars should be used as intended.” The department noted it identified many of the same concerns through its own internal review process and, in response, has hired an unnamed contractor “to assess and mitigate the risk of abuse, neglect, and exploitation for people with disabilities.” Other changes include hiring a new quality assurance administrator and four new employees for oversight and technical assistance. Looking forward, the department said it is exploring ways to prevent problematic providers from obtaining contracts and to raise the qualifications needed for agencies serving individuals with disabilities.
The deaths occurred in February when authorities say the group was left alone in a vehicle for hours. In Utah’s 3rd District Court, transport driver Isaiah Vaughn Pulu, 26, has been charged with three counts of murder. Pulu has not yet entered pleas in the deaths of Colton Warren Moser, 25; Mosa’ati Moa, 22; and Tim Jones, 39. An attorney for Pulu has previously stated the deaths were a “tragic accident.” Prosecutors allege Pulu drove the men, who required round-the-clock supervision and two of whom were nonverbal, to his home in West Valley City. They remained in the vehicle while investigators say Pulu went inside to eat and watch television. Pulu reportedly left the garage door open but found it closed when he returned about four hours later, with the men unconscious. Prosecutors also alleged Pulu had been reprimanded a month earlier for “client abandonment” after leaving three people unsupervised for half an hour.
The Disability Law Center’s report also identified issues in facilities serving other populations, including the Provo Canyon School, a youth residential treatment center that the state shut down earlier this year. The center laid out a host of recommendations for the state, including requiring service providers to demonstrate they can safely care for clients before receiving a license. It also urged the state to employ more individuals to oversee such companies and to raise their pay.