Utah Code § 26B-1-202

Department authority and duties
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this section
(1) As used in this section, "public funds" means the same as that term is defined in Section
26B-5-101.
(2) The department may, subject to applicable restrictions in state law and in addition to all other
authority and responsibility granted to the department by law:
(a) adopt rules, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act,
and not inconsistent with law, as the department may consider necessary or desirable for
providing health and social services to the people of this state;
(b) establish and manage client trust accounts in the department's institutions and community
programs, at the request of the client or the client's legal guardian or representative, or in
accordance with federal law;
(c) purchase, as authorized or required by law, services that the department is responsible to
provide for legally eligible persons;
(d) conduct adjudicative proceedings for clients and providers in accordance with the procedures
of Title 63G, Chapter 4, Administrative Procedures Act;
(e) establish eligibility standards for the department's programs, not inconsistent with state or
federal law or regulations;

(f) take necessary steps, including legal action, to recover money or the monetary value of
services provided to a recipient who was not eligible;
(g) set and collect fees for the department's services;
(h) license agencies, facilities, and programs, except as otherwise allowed, prohibited, or limited
by law;
(i) acquire, manage, and dispose of any real or personal property needed or owned by the
department, not inconsistent with state law;
(j) receive gifts, grants, devises, and donations; gifts, grants, devises, donations, or the proceeds
thereof, may be credited to the program designated by the donor, and may be used for the
purposes requested by the donor, as long as the request conforms to state and federal policy;
all donated funds shall be considered private, nonlapsing funds and may be invested under
guidelines established by the state treasurer;
(k) accept and employ volunteer labor or services; the department is authorized to reimburse
volunteers for necessary expenses, when the department considers that reimbursement to be
appropriate;
(l) carry out the responsibility assigned in the workforce services plan by the State Workforce
Development Board;
(m) carry out the responsibility assigned by Section 26B-1-430 with respect to coordination of
services for students with a disability;
(n) provide training and educational opportunities for the department's staff;
(o) collect child support payments and any other money due to the department;
(p) apply the provisions of Title 81, Chapter 6, Child Support, and Title 81, Chapter 7, Payment
and Enforcement of Spousal and Child Support, to parents whose child lives out of the home
in a department licensed or certified setting;
(q) establish policy and procedures, within appropriations authorized by the Legislature, in cases
where the Division of Child and Family Services or the Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth
Services is given custody of a minor by the juvenile court under Title 80, Utah Juvenile Code,
or the department is ordered to prepare an attainment plan for a minor found not competent to
proceed under Section 80-6-403, including:
(i) designation of interagency teams for each juvenile court district in the state;
(ii) delineation of assessment criteria and procedures;
(iii) minimum requirements, and timeframes, for the development and implementation of a
collaborative service plan for each minor placed in department custody; and
(iv) provisions for submittal of the plan and periodic progress reports to the court;
(r) carry out the responsibilities assigned to the department by statute;
(s) as further provided in Subsection (3), examine and audit the expenditures of any public funds
provided to a local health department, a local substance abuse authority, a local mental
health authority, a local area agency on aging, and any person, agency, or organization that
contracts with or receives funds from those authorities or agencies;
(t) in accordance with Subsection 26B-2-902(1)(d), accredit one or more agencies and persons to
provide intercountry adoption services;
(u) within legislative appropriations, promote and develop a system of care and stabilization
services:
(i) in compliance with Title 63G, Chapter 6a, Utah Procurement Code; and
(ii) that encompasses the department, department contractors, and the divisions, offices, or
institutions within the department, to:
(A) navigate services, funding resources, and relationships to the benefit of the children and
families whom the department serves;

(B) centralize department operations, including procurement and contracting;
(C) develop policies that govern business operations and that facilitate a system of care
approach to service delivery;
(D) allocate resources that may be used for the children and families served by the
department or the divisions, offices, or institutions within the department, subject to the
restrictions in Section 63J-1-206;
(E) create performance-based measures for the provision of services; and
(F) centralize other business operations, including data matching and sharing among the
department's divisions, offices, and institutions;
(v) ensure that any training or certification required of a public official or public employee, as
those terms are defined in Section 63G-22-102, complies with Title 63G, Chapter 22, State
Training and Certification Requirements, if the training or certification is required:
(i) under this title;
(ii) by the department; or
(iii) by an agency or division within the department;
(w) enter into cooperative agreements with the Department of Environmental Quality to delineate
specific responsibilities to assure that assessment and management of risk to human health
from the environment are properly administered;
(x) consult with the Department of Environmental Quality and enter into cooperative agreements,
as needed, to ensure efficient use of resources and effective response to potential health and
safety threats from the environment, and to prevent gaps in protection from potential risks
from the environment to specific individuals or population groups;
(y) to the extent authorized under state law or required by federal law, promote and protect the
health and wellness of the people within the state;
(z) establish, maintain, and enforce rules authorized under state law or required by federal law to
promote and protect the public health or to prevent disease and illness;
(aa) investigate the causes of epidemic, infectious, communicable, and other diseases affecting
the public health;
(bb) provide for the detection and reporting of communicable, infectious, acute, chronic, or any
other disease or health hazard which the department considers to be dangerous, important,
or likely to affect the public health;
(cc) collect and report information on causes of injury, sickness, death, and disability and the risk
factors that contribute to the causes of injury, sickness, death, and disability within the state;
(dd) collect, prepare, publish, and disseminate information to inform the public concerning the
health and wellness of the population, specific hazards, and risks that may affect the health
and wellness of the population and specific activities which may promote and protect the
health and wellness of the population;
(ee) abate nuisances when necessary to eliminate sources of filth and infectious and
communicable diseases affecting the public health;
(ff) make necessary sanitary and health investigations and inspections in cooperation with local
health departments as to any matters affecting the public health;
(gg) establish laboratory services necessary to support public health programs and medical
services in the state;
(hh) establish and enforce standards for laboratory services which are provided by any laboratory
in the state when the purpose of the services is to protect the public health;
(ii) cooperate with the Labor Commission to conduct studies of occupational health hazards
and occupational diseases arising in and out of employment in industry, and make
recommendations for elimination or reduction of the hazards;

(jj) cooperate with the local health departments, the Department of Corrections, the
Administrative Office of the Courts, the Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services, and
the Utah Office for Victims of Crime to conduct testing for HIV infection of alleged sexual
offenders, convicted sexual offenders, and any victims of a sexual offense;
(kk) investigate the causes of maternal and infant mortality;
(ll) establish, maintain, and enforce a procedure requiring the blood of adult pedestrians and
drivers of motor vehicles killed in highway accidents be examined for the presence and
concentration of alcohol, and provide the Commissioner of Public Safety with monthly
statistics reflecting the results of these examinations, with necessary safeguards so
that information derived from the examinations is not used for a purpose other than the
compilation of these statistics;
(mm) establish a uniform public health program throughout the state which includes continuous
service, employment of qualified employees, and a basic program of disease control, vital
and health statistics, sanitation, public health nursing, and other preventive health programs
necessary or desirable for the protection of public health;
(nn) conduct health planning for the state;
(oo) monitor the costs of health care in the state and foster price competition in the health care
delivery system;
(pp) establish methods or measures for health care providers, public health entities, and health
care insurers to coordinate among themselves to verify the identity of the individuals the
providers serve;
(qq) designate Alzheimer's disease and related dementia as a public health issue and, within
budgetary limitations, implement a state plan for Alzheimer's disease and related dementia by
incorporating the plan into the department's strategic planning and budgetary process;
(rr) coordinate with other state agencies and other organizations to implement the state plan for
Alzheimer's disease and related dementia;
(ss) ensure that any training or certification required of a public official or public employee, as
those terms are defined in Section 63G-22-102, complies with Title 63G, Chapter 22, State
Training and Certification Requirements, if the training or certification is required by the
agency or under this Title 26B, Utah Health and Human Services Code;
(tt) oversee public education vision screening as described in Section 53G-9-404;
(uu) issue code blue alerts in accordance with Title 35A, Chapter 16, Part 7, Code Blue Alert; and
(vv) as allowed by state and federal law, share data with the Office of Families that is relevant to
the duties described in Subsection 26B-1-243(4), which may include, to the extent available:
(i) demographic data concerning family structures in the state; and
(ii) data regarding the family structure associated with:
(A) suicide, depression, or anxiety; and
(B) various health outcomes.
(3)
(a) Under Subsection (2)(s), those local departments, local authorities, area agencies, and any
person or entity that contracts with or receives funds from those departments, authorities, or
area agencies, shall provide the department with any information the department considers
necessary.
(b) The department is further authorized to issue directives resulting from any examination or
audit to a local department, local authority, an area agency, and persons or entities that
contract with or receive funds from those departments, authorities, or agencies with regard to
any public funds.

(c) If the department determines that it is necessary to withhold funds from a local health
department, local mental health authority, or local substance abuse authority based on failure
to comply with state or federal law, policy, or contract provisions, the department may take
steps necessary to ensure continuity of services.

‹ Prev All Utah sections Next ›


Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.