Utah leaders discuss next steps after lawmakers put $30M toward domestic violence issues

SALT LAKE CITY — This year was the year of services. Next year will be the year of prevention.

That's how Nubia Peña described Utah lawmakers' recent efforts to address domestic violence.

Peña, director for the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs, was a participant in Friday morning's roundtable discussion about new domestic violence policies and the $30 million collectively allocated to domestic violence issues during the 2023 legislative session.

Other participants included Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall; Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City; Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown; Erin Jemison, director of public policy for the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition; Tom Ross, executive director of the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice; Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan; and Liliana Olvera-Arbon, executive director of the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson was unable to attend the roundtable, but Peña emphasized that this issue is deeply important to Henderson because of the tragic murder of her cousin by an ex-boyfriend.

The roundtable was the second discussion of its kind, Mendenhall said, and was closed to the public because "the vulnerability of sharing concerns … isn't something that is fostered with cameras in the room."

Romero added that since they're working with sexual assault and domestic violence survivors, "that confidentially and that trust is really important to respect."

Mendenhall said the meeting's purpose was to collectively discuss what domestic violence legislation is on the horizon and how leaders can best implement recently passed legislation.

One new policy is SB117, which will require law enforcement officers to conduct a 12-question lethality assessment whenever they respond to a domestic violence call, regardless of whether an arrest is made. It goes into effect on July 1. A team is working on a database and app for police officers to use when making assessments, Mendenhall said.

Other changes include HB314, which will help survivors access lease termination protections; HB244, which will create the Utah Crime Victim Services Coordination Commission to address victim needs and help coordinate between state and local agencies; and HB43, which will create a task force to assess and create a plan for addressing gaps, access and coordination issues when it comes to domestic violence.

But the new policies don't necessarily mean that the changes will go smoothly, Mendenhall said.

For instance, domestic violence service providers at the roundtable shared concerns about difficulty in data reporting that's standard for many government grant applications. Utah leaders haven't even funded the staffing that would make data reporting a simple process for the service providers, Mendenhall said.

"Those kinds of real conversations before the applications go out, before the formal meetings happen, (are) the very fabric of what made this last legislative session so successful… and why it's so important that we keep working together," she said.

Mendenhall said lawmakers focused this year on securing funding for existing services "so that there (is) still someone to answer the phone and open the door," and so that service providers don't have to compete against each other for limited funding.

Domestic violence service providers have already lost so much federal funding, and they never had much state funding to start with, she continued — only about $300,000 a year.

So for lawmakers providing a collective $30 million this year is a "phenomenal gesture," Mendenhall said, not only to the service providers but "to Utahns who are victims and have been victims (as a message) that we love you, we want to support you, and we're going to put that money and the policies in place to give you the most support that we can."

That said, there's still not enough money for all of the needs out there, Mendenhall said. The new funding, while an important step forward, is barely holding the system together, she continued.

The next step, she said, is focusing on prevention.

Jemison said there hasn't been any state funding allocated for domestic violence prevention. While domestic violence service providers are doing as much prevention work as they can, such as speaking in schools about consent and healthy relationships, "it is such a tiny part of what they're able to do because they haven't had the support."

But with the new state funding now helping to keep doors open and hotlines running, service providers can possibly give more focus to prevention.

"So while we need much more state funding to support prevention, specifically, I think the successes we saw in this last session will trickle down and help some of that as well," she said.

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