Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- A Utah lawmaker seeks an additional $1 million annually for domestic violence programs.
- A new police protocol has doubled referrals to advocates, increasing demand for resources.
- Victim advocate Lexus Goodpasture emphasizes the need for more funding to support services.
SALT LAKE CITY — A change in police protocol is connecting more victims of domestic violence to advocates who can help, driving demand for shelter and other resources. Now a Utah lawmaker wants the Legislature to chip in an additional $1 million per year to help meet the need.
"I hope they will step up and fund this fully," said Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion, the Cottonwood Heights Democrat sponsoring the budget request. "I hope we can do that. Because we are a state that values our families."
Under a 2023 Utah law, police must use a danger assessment when they respond to domestic violence. For those at high risk, officers place an immediate call to an advocate who can help.
Before the change, the protocol was widely used in Utah but not required. In the year after the mandate took effect, the number of referrals to advocates via the risk assessment doubled, and it's held steady since, according to the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition.
Lexus Goodpasture first encountered the protocol as an officer with the Ogden and Pleasant View police departments.
"To have someone in uniform tell them, 'Hey, I am really concerned about you,' has a huge impact on them," Goodpasture said of people being victimized in their own homes. "And so it kind of can help prompt victims to reach out for that help and get out of that situation."
Now a victim advocate at the YCC Family Crisis Center in Ogden, Goodpasture helps clients get protective orders and start counseling, and can set them up with a case manager who can help find more permanent housing.
When she informs them of their options, the reaction often is "a lot of tears, just knowing help is out there," Goodpasture said.
She and her colleagues recorded a 66% increase in referrals in the year after the law passed, and the number is still ticking up, albeit at a slower rate.
"It definitely keeps us busy," she said.
Lawmakers anticipated an increase in demand. They set aside $6 million for domestic violence services in 2023 and another million in ongoing funding for the lethality assessment program last year. This year's request would add another $1.4 million per year into the pot shared by groups helping victims throughout the state.
"It would help us immensely, just being able to provide further services for victims," Goodpasture added, allowing her team to potentially hire another advocate.
Bennion said it's crucial that Utah continues to fund the initiative.
"That's tremendous that we are able to help them," Bennion said, "but we want to fully support them."
Domestic violence resources
If you or someone you know is going through abuse, help is available.
- The Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465).
- Resources are also available online at the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition website.
- YWCA Women in Jeopardy program: 801-537-8600
- Utah's statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
