House forms domestic-violence task force to standardize data and lethality assessments

The Utah House advanced second substitute House Bill 351, creating a domestic-violence task force charged with standardizing data collection, lethality assessments and interagency information-sharing to better measure and respond to domestic-violence incidents across the state. The second substitute was transmitted to the Senate.

Representative Parooj, sponsor of the bill, said the task force will bring together stakeholders including the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ), law enforcement, prosecutors, defense counsel, community service providers and advocates to compare and align reporting practices and lethality-assessment forms. She described Department of Public Safety reporting that highlighted inconsistencies in how agencies report and share domestic-violence data and said the task force will seek to improve the data that informs policy.

Members asked whether the statewide domestic-violence coalition and local providers would be involved; Parooj said the coalition had been "eager and excited" and would be represented, and referenced CAPSA as a local organization reporting rising homelessness related to domestic violence. The sponsor said the task force will propose policy recommendations to address prevalence and response across jurisdictions.