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

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday released a timeline of involvement the state Division of Child and Family Services had with 12-year-old Gavin Peterson and his family in the years before his death in July from abuse and malnutrition.

The statement was released hours before DCFS leaders met with a panel of state lawmakers behind closed doors to discuss the Peterson case and three other suspicious deaths in Utah that occurred in the recent past. While the specifics of the case were not discussed publicly in an effort to protect privacy, the health department said the public statement and timeline were meant to promote transparency in the case — after community members have pressed the agency for details about what steps had been taken before Gavin's death.

"DCFS caseworkers are responsible for some of the hardest — and most important — decisions a public servant ever has to make," said Tracy Gruber, executive director of the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. "They must decide if the government should intervene with a family in the privacy of their home to protect a child. We must carefully balance state law and facts known at the time of an investigation, when we make decisions that may forever change the lives of a child and family."

Gavin Peterson died on July 9, and his father Shane Peterson, stepmother Nichole Scott, and older brother Tyler Peterson were arrested shortly after his death and accused of causing his death following years of abuse, including severe malnutrition.

The statement from the department said DCFS first received a report of suspected child abuse in the Peterson home in West Haven on May 28, 2019, although it said Gavin Peterson was "not a victim in this case. The family received one month of services and the case "was closed because there was no longer a need for further DCFS intervention."

Child services received a call with "concerns about Gavin" on Feb. 27, 2020, after which the division "found Gavin to be a victim of abuse and that a caregiver had failed to protect him from the abuse." That abuse did not occur in the Peterson household and did not involve his father or stepmother, according to the statement. In May 2020, a juvenile court ordered "both households" to participate in "in-home services" through DCFS, the department said.

Another person reported "concerns about Gavin and his treatment in the Peterson home" on Aug. 24 of that year, while the in-home services were ongoing, but the information did not warrant an investigation," according to the statement. The report was shared with Peterson's caseworker. The family completed the in-home services on May 21, 2021.

Nearly 16 months later, on Sept. 2, 2022, the department said child services received another report about Gavin's well-being. This report, according to the statement, likewise did not meet the criteria under state law for an investigation.

The division did open an investigation into the Peterson family following a report received on March 28, 2023, "alleging physical neglect of Gavin."

"DCFS received a second call reporting physical neglect against the Peterson family two days later on March 30, 2023," according to the statement.

An investigator spoke with the people who had reported the alleged abuse, but "neither had additional information or concerns," Utah Department of Health and Human Services said. Gavin Peterson was interviewed at school without his parents present on March 31 and "did not disclose anything regarding abuse or neglect."

Shane Peterson was interviewed at his home by a DCFS investigator on May 3. A third report of alleged physical abuse of Gavin Peterson was submitted on May 8, while the initial investigation was still ongoing, prompting a second interview of Shane Peterson at his home, along with interviews with all other adults in the home. Gavin Peterson was also interviewed for a second time at his home.

DCFS ultimately closed the case on May 15, 2023 "as 'unsupported' because DCFS did not have evidence to indicate Gavin had been abused or neglected," according to the statement.

The division said it "did not receive any additional calls or information on the Peterson family between the closure of the March 2023 case and Tuesday, July 9, 2024," the day Peterson died.

A subsequent investigation by DCFS into the case supported the charges filed against Shane Peterson, Tyler Peterson and Scott, "because there was a pattern of abuse that took place over the time DCFS did not have contact with Gavin," the health department statement said.

"It also determined that a relative living outside the Peterson home failed to protect Gavin from this abuse and neglect," the statement continued. "DCFS made a supported finding because the relative had been in the home several times and witnessed Gavin being physically abused and neglected and did not reach out to the authorities or do anything to try and stop the abuse from continuing."

Other officials from within the department spoke during a public portion of a meeting with the Legislature's Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel, and made private recommendations for potential policy changes to lawmakers. Committee co-chairwoman Rep. Christine Watkins, R-Price, called the closed-door meeting a "very healthy discussion" about legislation to protect children.

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