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SALT LAKE CITY — Two registered sex offenders lived in homes approved by the state to provide child care, a new state audit shows.
The audit released Wednesday also found that a licensed day care provider lived in one unit of a house divided into five apartments. Registered sex offenders — all of whom committed felony crimes against children — occupied the other four apartments.
"We weren't able to determine if the kids were in danger per se," said David Pulsipher, performance audit manager, adding auditors did not enter the house to see if the offenders could get into the apartment without supervision.
"We do have concerns," he said. "We believe that by strengthening controls to prevent registered sex offenders from having access to vulnerable populations such as children the state could help to safeguard and protect children better than we are now."
At the same time, no registered sex offenders were working in five school districts and four charter schools auditors reviewed. Also, none were licensed by the state for foster or proctor care nor were any employed at the Utah State Developmental Center or Utah State Hospital.
Issues raised in other states about sex offenders' access to children in foster care, child care centers, mental health facilities and public schools prompted Utah to look at whether problems exist in its public agencies. The state conducted the audit from January to March of this year.
The Utah Department of Health, which licenses child care providers, intends to change how it evaluates applicants, including checking addresses against the state's sex offender database.
"We don't think that anything nefarious happened to any of the children," said Tom Hudachko, health department spokesman. "Nevertheless, that doesn't negate our need to do due diligence and make sure that the possibility doesn't even arise."
The Utah Department of Corrections currently lists 7,160 people on its sex and kidnap offender notification and registration website. There were 7,149 at the time of the audit, which matched offenders against public employee and child care provider rolls.
We don't think that anything nefarious happened to any of the children. Nevertheless, that doesn't negate our need to do due diligence and make sure that the possibility doesn't even arise.
–Tom Hudachko, Utah Dept. of Health
In one situation, auditors found that a state Department of Workforce Services child care assistance client did not disclose that a person convicted of lewdness with a child lived in the home. The department revoked the provider's license after auditors notified it that a sex offender was registered at that address.
In the second case, the health department's Office of Child Care Licensing cleared a person convicted of felony sexual abuse to live at a licensed family child care center. Although the conviction was set aside in Texas, the person under Utah law had to register with state. The person has since moved out, Pulsipher said.
There are no state laws or guidelines for dealing with sex convictions set aside or expunged in other states. Hudachko said the health department would adopt policies clarifying how to treat those instances
The audit found that among the six states bordering Utah, only Colorado and Idaho check the sex offender registry before licensing a child care provider.
Overall, the audit detected 12 registered sex offenders who shared an address with a licensed day care provider, including the four in the five-unit house. They appear to live the same apartment building but different unit, according to the audit. Their crimes include aggravated sexual abuse of a child, sodomy on a child and rape of child.
The child care licensing division requires to show the offenders don't have unsupervised access to the child care center, but the audit said such records don't always exist.
Hudachko said health officials went to the house after the audit came to its attention. They determined that the sex offenders did not have access to the apartment where children were being cared for but that it wasn't documented properly, he said.
"Certainly, we need to also put new checks and balances in place to make sure we're documenting things to help us avoid these types of situations," he said.
Hudachko said the health department shut down that day care provider for unrelated reasons.
