R501-21-6. Domestic Violence Programs

(1) A domestic violence (DV) treatment provider shall comply with generally accepted and current practices in DV treatment. (2) A DV treatment provider shall: (a) maintain and document cooperative working relationships with any DV shelter, treatment program, referring agency, local DV coalition, and custodial parent when the client is a minor; (b) offer at least ten sessions of treatment for any child or victim, not including intake or orientation; (c) if the client is a perpetrator, contact any victim, current partner, or required criminal justice referring agency; and (d) ensure a licensed mental health therapist, as defined in Section 58-60-102, completes a DV treatment evaluation for each client who is a perpetrator that includes individualized recommendations for that client's treatment. (3) For groups, a provider shall ensure there is at least one staff for: (a) there is at least one staff for every eight clients in an adult treatment group for up to an hour; (b) every ten clients in an adult treatment group exceeding one hour; (c) every eight children in a child victim or child witness group where each child client is under 12 years old; and (d) every ten children in a child victim or child witness group where each child client is at least 12 years old. (4) For client safety, the provider shall: (a) ensure that: (i) when a client enters a DV treatment program, the staff conduct an in-depth, face-to-face interview and intake assessment to determine the client's clinical profile and treatment needs; and (ii) when the client is a perpetrator, the evaluation described in Subsection (2)(d) counts for this intake assessment; (b) obtain additional information for any client who is a perpetrator from any police incident report, criminal history of the client, prior treatment provider, victim, or victim advocate; (c) when appropriate, obtain additional information for a child client from any parent, prior treatment provider, school, or the Division of Child and Family Services Child Protective Services; (d) when any document listed in Subsections (4)(a) through (c) cannot be obtained, document the reason; and (e) ensure that the intake assessment or evaluation described in Subsection (2)(d) includes: (i) a profile of the frequency, severity, and duration of the DV behavior, including a summary of any psychological violence; (ii) documentation of any homicidal, suicidal ideation and intentions, or abusive behavior toward children; (iii) a clinical diagnosis and a referral for evaluation to determine the need for medication, if indicated; (iv) documentation of safety planning when: (A) the client is an adult victim, child victim, or child witness; and (B) that client has contact with the perpetrator; (v) documentation of a safety plan for any victim who chooses not to become a treatment client; and (vi) documentation that appropriate measures have been taken to protect children from harm. (5) For treatment procedures, a provider shall: (a) create an individualized treatment plan addressing relevant treatment issues for each client; (b) refer each client deemed not appropriate for a DV program to the appropriate resource or program, with any reason for referral documented, and notify the referred agency; (c) provide DV counseling concurrently with, or after, other necessary treatment when appropriate; (d) ensure that any client who is a perpetrator, or a co-perpetrator, is not provided conjoint or group therapy in the same session as any victim who has experienced violence from the perpetrator or co-perpetrator until staff has completed a comprehensive assessment to determine that: (i) any violence between the client who is a perpetrator, or a co-perpetrator, and the victim has stopped; and (ii) conjoint therapy is appropriate; (e) require the client who is a perpetrator to complete at least four DV treatment sessions, unless otherwise noted in the evaluation recommendations described in Subsection (2)(d), before the provider implements conjoint therapy; (f) implement written procedure in an efficient and timely manner to facilitate any: (i) entry of a court-ordered defendant into treatment as a client; (ii) notification of client compliance, participation, or completion; (iii) disposition of a non-compliant client; (iv) notification of the recurrence of violence; and (v) notification of factors that may exacerbate a client's potential for violence; (g) comply with the duty to warn, in accordance with Section 78B-3-502; (h) document specialized training in DV assessment and treatment practices for any individual providing treatment service, including: (i) completing 24 hours of Utah Association for Domestic Violence Treatment pre-service training; (ii) completing 16 hours annual training after the initial training in Subsection (5)(h)(i); and (iii) at least one hour per week of clinical supervision for any treatment staff that is not clinically licensed to discuss clinical dynamics of a case. (6) The provider shall ensure training is documented and approved by the designated department DV specialist regarding assessment and treatment practices for treating DV victims and perpetrators. (7) A provider shall disclose any: (a) current department contract; or (b) action against the contract to the Office of Licensing. (8) A provider shall disclose any current accreditation or action against accredited status to the Office of Licensing.