SALT LAKE CITY — While a legislative panel met behind closed doors with Division of Child and Family Services leaders about the July death of 12-year-old Gavin Peterson, the father of children who were abused by Ruby Franke criticized the agency and called for more transparency.

Kevin Franke, the ex-husband of Ruby Franke and father of two young children who were found severely malnourished at their home last year, spoke to reporters Thursday in the basement of the Utah House of Representatives building on Capitol Hill while waiting to address the state's Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel. He said he sees himself as a "proponent of child welfare reform" and wants to "see some serious changes."

What do those changes look like?

"I'd say it's difficult to elaborate because ... so much of the current policy and procedure is hidden. Right now, we're out in the hallway because there's a closed-door session," Franke said. "I think so many of us have questions about how this process works, what failed, what went wrong — but when all of those things are discussed behind closed doors, how can anyone know what needs to be changed? So, it really doesn't foster confidence in the system."

Franke previously lobbied the same panel to implement red flag laws and close "loopholes" that he says have allowed children to slip through the cracks.

Agency leaders met with several lawmakers privately to discuss Gavin's death and three other homicide deaths involving children during fiscal year 2024. Tracy Gruber, executive director of the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, said the fatality review presentation to the oversight panel is one of the most important functions of the joint effort to reduce child abuse.

"We all are driven by the same outcome of keeping kids healthy and safe and free of harm," Gruber told lawmakers during an open portion of the meeting. "And when they aren't safe, and they are harmed or even killed, we all grieve, including our staff. We are not able to prevent every harmful act or death, and this takes a toll on all of us."

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Utah releases timeline of DCFS involvement with 12-year-old Gavin Peterson before his death

Utah has released a timeline detailing the DCFS' involvement with 12-year-old Gavin Peterson prior to his death in July.

Ahead of the meeting, the health department published a statement in response to Gavin's death, which included a timeline of interactions DCFS had with the Peterson family in the years preceding his death. Although it did not include specifics, several agency employees said it was one of the most robust public reports the agency has ever provided.

Jennifer Mendelson, a fatality review coordinator with the state's Offices of Services Review, said of the four child homicide cases investigated this year, only one case — the death of Gavin — had prior involvement with the DCFS. Franke said the lack of involvement from DCFS shows a failure of the system — something he would like to see addressed going forward.

"It was cited that three (of the cases) did not have DCFS involvement," he said. "I would counter and say that's exactly my point. Why wasn't DCFS involved?"

Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, told reporters the fatality review process found the division had been compliant with statute but acknowledged that lawmakers are considering changes to the statute to try to prevent similar tragedies going forward.

"That is what's being discussed," said Escamilla, the Senate minority leader, "because it's balancing all of those. The protection and well-being of children is our No. 1 priority. Then you have parental rights, you have roles of government, and how do you meet the threshold (when) the courts come in — and in many of these instances — are the ones that will trigger some type of more aggressive intervention. So, all of those things are being discussed."

DCFS Director Tonja Myrup said the Peterson case is a rare situation in which parents "will go to extreme efforts to avoid DCFS and to avoid public intervention." Although the division received several reports of alleged child abuse in the Peterson home, Myrup said the evidence gathered through interviews and visits to the home didn't reach the threshold for taking further action. She didn't give specifics on needed policy changes but said officials are looking at different ways to prevent extreme cases from escalating.

"Caseworkers, they have an important role of interviewing children, interviewing family members, making sure they're gathering all of that information," Myrup said. "But, if that information isn't sufficient to give the authority to be able to protect these children, that's where it's important that we step back and do exactly what we're doing now, which is to have those conversations, look at the research and see if there are policies or procedures that can change to better support that intervention."

Myrup said the best way to prevent child abuse or neglect is for family, friends or neighbors to report suspicions to the division's 24/7 hotline at 1-855-323-3237.

Escamilla acknowledged it's a "delicate balance" between protecting ongoing criminal investigations and being more forthcoming with the public, but she praised what she said was a transparent statement from the health department.

Franke, however, was still not satisfied and called for a "transparent and independent investigation of the entire child welfare system" to make sure similar tragedies don't happen again.

"I think it's wrong for any aspect of the child welfare system to avoid public accountability by citing privacy laws or proposing to perform its own private internal investigation," he said. "Closed doors do not foster trust or confidence. Privacy does nothing to help Gavin Peterson at this point."

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