Months after three Utahns with disabilities died while under the care of a Utah company, Safe and Sound Services, its license has been revoked and a caretaker faces murder charges. On Monday, the Disability Law Center released a report criticizing the state’s role, asserting that inadequate oversight by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) contributed to the tragedy. The report comes after authorities say the three men were left alone in a vehicle for hours in February.
The Disability Law Center asserted in its report, titled “Profits Over People,” that this tragedy stemmed from DHHS permitting high-risk providers to care for individuals with complex needs and significant budgets without adequate oversight and accountability. Nate Crippes, the center’s public affairs supervising attorney, stated that the report reiterates criticisms the agency has raised for over a decade. Crippes urged state officials to review their recommendations and enact necessary reforms to protect those in long-term care settings, arguing that Utah has too often prioritized facilities and profits over the well-being of its residents with disabilities.
The center’s report claims DHHS should have identified Safe and Sound Services as a "dangerous provider," having received prior notifications of issues such as physical assaults and failures in providing medical care for injuries, even before the deaths last winter. According to the report, DHHS inspections in the years preceding the tragedy uncovered problems including employees working with clients unsupervised without required background checks. However, the report notes these evaluations were often conducted remotely or when no clients were present, limiting inspectors' ability to observe services firsthand and speak with clients.
Following the deaths, DHHS reportedly inspected the company's residential sites, identifying numerous deficiencies. The Disability Law Center's report detailed findings such as a foul smell, absence of heat or running water in one location, staff admitting to confining residents to a basement at night in another, and employees reporting a resident returning from a day program with a broken tooth, black eyes, and neck scratches. The report concluded that these issues demonstrated the provider failed to use state-appropriated funds for even basic utilities or a clean environment, and that staffing ratios were "dangerously low and insufficient."
In Utah’s 3rd District Court, transport driver Isaiah Vaughn Pulu, 26, is charged with three counts of murder in connection with the February deaths of Colton Warren Moser, 25; Mosa’ati Moa, 22; and Tim Jones, 39. Pulu has not yet entered pleas, and an attorney for Pulu previously described the deaths as a "tragic accident." Prosecutors allege that Pulu drove the men, who required constant supervision and included two nonverbal individuals, to his West Valley City home. He reportedly left them in the vehicle while he went inside for approximately four hours to eat and watch television. Pulu told investigators he left the garage door open, but returned to find it closed and the men unconscious. Prosecutors also stated that Pulu had been reprimanded a month prior for "client abandonment" after leaving three people unsupervised for a half-hour.
DHHS Executive Director Tracy Gruber and other administrators were not available for an interview on Monday. However, the department issued an unsigned statement saying that the situations detailed in the Disability Law Center’s report were deeply felt by the department, especially when safety is compromised and lives are lost. The statement affirmed the department’s agreement that taxpayer dollars should be used as intended. DHHS reported that it identified many of the same concerns through an internal review and has since hired a contractor to evaluate and reduce the risk of abuse, neglect, and exploitation for people with disabilities, though the contractor was not identified. Additionally, DHHS has hired a new quality assurance administrator and four new employees for oversight and technical assistance. Looking ahead, the department is exploring methods to prevent problematic providers from obtaining contracts and to elevate qualification standards for agencies serving individuals with disabilities.
The Disability Law Center’s report also highlighted 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's recommendations to the state include requiring service providers to demonstrate safe care capabilities before licensing, increasing the number of employees overseeing such companies, and raising their pay.
