SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — After child welfare authorities released a report on the death of Gavin Peterson, the Child Welfare Legislative Committee met to discuss ways to improve Utah’s laws and policies — and Kevin Franke joined in.
The death of 12-year-old Gavin Peterson in July led to calls for transparency about the case as there were claims that the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) had received reports of suspected abuse and neglect for several years.
Thursday morning, DCFS released information on the investigations leading up to the child’s death and legislators held a meeting to discuss potential changes to Utah’s child welfare system.
Among the public providing comment in the meeting was Kevin Franke, the estranged husband of Ruby Franke, a former YouTuber who pleaded guilty to child abuse charges late last year.
Kevin Franke said that while the process of working with caseworkers has been positive overall, he believes there is a need for major changes to the system to prevent deaths like Gavin Peterson’s and near-fatalities like those of his children.
“I’m just a private and concerned citizen, but I hope that they will listen to citizens like me,” he told ABC4 while awaiting to make his comment. “I feel a responsibility and an incredible passion to speak on this issue.”
In his public statement, he advocated for turning school truancy matters back over to the juvenile court system, enacting ‘ Red flag laws ,’ and writing laws to “overcome the impenetrable barrier of the ‘uncooperative parent’.”
“I urge lawmakers and citizens to support these proposed measures,” he said. “Such laws could have saved Gavin Peterson’s life. And I tremble when I think that my own children were just weeks away from meeting the same fate as Gavin.”
DCFS said it receives approximately 40,000 reports of abuse annually and takes “each of those reports seriously.”
Tracy Gruber, executive director of the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) , said they were aware the question on everyone’s mind is what could have been done to prevent the 12-year-old’s death.
“We all are driven by the same outcome of keeping kids healthy and safe, and free of harm. And when they aren’t safe, and they are harmed or even killed, we all grieve, including our staff,” she said. “We are not able to prevent every harmful act or death, and this takes a toll on all of us.”
DHHS authorities presented fatality reports to lawmakers from the previous fiscal year and provided recommendations moving forward, including supporting the case worker debriefs after an investigation, increasing training on poorly explained injuries in infants, and improving access to behavioral resources.
Suggestions caseworkers submitted include more unannounced visits, more training on identifying abuse for rural doctors, and transportation to help rural families access counseling services.
Several commentators who had worked closely with DCFS suggested placing home-schooling restrictions on parents who have been investigated for child abuse and increasing staffing and funding to reduce the load on employees.
“I think two things can be true at the same time,” said Emily Long, a foster mom and school counselor. “We can value DCFS and CPS’s role in our state and know this is a hard job … at the same time we can hold the state accountable in keeping our children safe.”
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