13-53 - Residential, Vocational and Life Skills Program Act
Title 13 > 13-53
Sections (11)
13-53-101 - Title.
This chapter is known as the “Residential Vocational or Life Skills Program Act.”
13-53-102 - Definitions.
As used in this chapter: 13-53-102(1) “Division” means the Division of Consumer Protection. 13-53-102(2) “Human services program” means the same as that term is defined in Section 26B-2-101. 13-53-102(3) “Participant” means an individual who:resides at a residential vocational or life skills program facility;receives from the residential vocational or life skills program:vocational training; orlife skills training; anddoes not receive monetary compensation from the residential vocational or life skills program. 13-53-102(4) “Postsecondary school” means the same as that term is defined in Section 13-34-101. 13-53-102(5) “Residential vocational or life skills program” means a program that:is operated by a nonprofit corporation, as defined in Section 16-6a-102;does not accept local, state, or federal government funding, government grant money, or any other form of government assistance to operate or provide services or training;operates on a mutually voluntary basis with each participant;houses at a program facility in this state participants who are unrelated to an owner or a manager of the program facility without charging money for lodging, food, clothing, or training;may house transitional graduates for a fee;provides vocational or life skills training to participants;maintains a director or senior staff member at a program facility at all times when the facility is in use;does not provide mental health services;does not provide substance use disorder treatment;does not accept payment from an insurance provider for a participant;does not award a degree, diploma, or other educational credential commensurate with a degree or diploma;does not hold itself out as a human services program; anddoes not hold itself out as a postsecondary school. 13-53-102(6) “Transitional graduate” means an individual who:graduated from a residential vocational or life skills program;continues to reside at the residential vocational or life skills program facility; andis employed by an entity not directly affiliated with the residential vocational or life skills program. 13-53-102(7) “Vocational training entity” is a commercial entity where a participant receives vocational training.
13-53-103 - Registration of a residential vocational or life skills program.
13-53-103(1) An owner or a manager of a residential vocational or life skills program shall annually register the residential vocational or life skills program with the division. 13-53-103(2) An application for registration shall be on a form approved by the division and shall require:the name, address, telephone number, email address, website, and facsimile number, if any, of the nonprofit corporation operating the residential vocational or life skills program;the name and address of the registered agent of the corporation operating the residential vocational or life skills program;the name, address, telephone number, email address, website, and facsimile number, if any, of the residential vocational or life skills program;the name and address of any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is affiliated with the residential vocational or life skills program;the name and residential address of any officer, director, manager, or administrator of the residential vocational or life skills program;the name, address, telephone number, email address, website, and facsimile number, if any, of any vocational training entity affiliated with the residential vocational or life skills program;a disclosure indicating whether any officer, director, or administrator of the residential vocational or life skills program has been the subject of an administrative action by the division;a disclosure indicating whether any officer, director, or administrator of the residential vocational or life skills program has been convicted of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude within the previous 10 years;financial information described in Subsection 13-53-108(1);proof of a commercial general liability and umbrella insurance policy providing at least a $1,000,000 per occurrence limit of liability;a copy of the disclosure required under Section 13-53-106;evidence that the applicant meets the description of a residential vocational or life skills program under Subsection 13-53-102(5); andadditional information that the division requires, as provided in administrative rule. 13-53-103(3) A residential vocational or life skills program is registered on the day that the division issues the registration. 13-53-103(4) The division’s issuance of a registration for a residential vocational or life skills program does not constitute the state’s or the division’s endorsement or approval of the residential vocational or life skills program. 13-53-103(5) An applicant for the registration of a residential vocational or life skills program shall file a separate application and pay a separate application fee for each residential vocational or life skills program location. 13-53-103(6) The division may make rules in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, to implement the registration application process. 13-53-103(7) The division may set fees in accordance with Section 63J-1-504 for a residential vocational or life skills program registration application.
13-53-104 - Registration denial, suspension, or revocation.
13-53-104(1) In accordance with Chapter 2, Division of Consumer Protection, and Title 63G, Chapter 4, Administrative Procedures Act, the division may initiate proceedings to deny, suspend, or revoke the registration of a residential vocational or life skills program, if:the entity holding the registration fails to meet the description of a residential vocational or life skills program under Subsection 13-53-102(5);the operation of the residential vocational or life skills program creates a serious risk to public safety or welfare;the registration application or any supplemental information required by the division is incomplete, false, misleading, or filed in an untimely manner;the residential vocational or life skills program or an individual described in Subsection 13-53-103(2)(e) causes or allows to occur a violation of any provision of municipal, state, or federal law, including an administrative rule made under this chapter;an individual described in Subsection 13-53-103(2)(e) is convicted of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude within the previous 10 years; andthe residential vocational or life skills program does not have adequate controls to minimize associated risks to the participants of the residential vocational or life skills program and to the public; orthe residential vocational or life skills program fails to pay an administrative fine that the division lawfully imposes on the residential vocational or life skills program. 13-53-104(2) The division may place reasonable limits upon a residential vocational or life skills program’s operations, if:the division has reasonable concerns about the residential vocational or life skills program’s ability to comply with this chapter; andthe limitation is reasonably calculated to protect the interests of the public or the participants of the residential vocational or life skills program. 13-53-104(3) When the demands of public safety permit, the division shall allow a residential vocational or life skills program a reasonable amount of time to remedy a violation under this chapter before the division suspends or revokes a registration. 13-53-104(4) The division may require an individual described in Subsection 13-53-103(2)(e) to submit to a criminal background check, at the individual’s expense or the expense of the residential vocational or life skills program.
13-53-105 - Prohibited acts.
A residential vocational or life skills program may not: 13-53-105(1) operate without a registration issued under Section 13-53-103; 13-53-105(2) utilize any behavioral intervention that is not peer-led or that uses the services of any professional or any person purporting to be a professional; 13-53-105(3) accept a participant before providing to the participant the disclosure described in Section 13-53-106; or 13-53-105(4) use physical force or permit the use of physical force.
13-53-106 - Disclosure to participants.
13-53-106(1) Before accepting a participant, a residential vocational or life skills program shall provide to the prospective participant a written disclosure. 13-53-106(2) The written disclosure shall include:a statement that the program is a registered residential vocational or life skills program, but that the residential vocational or life skills program is not endorsed by the state or the division;a statement that the prospective participant’s continuation in the program is voluntary and that a participant may leave at any time;the conditions under which a participant is removed from the residential vocational or life skills program or required to leave a program facility;a statement that the residential vocational or life skills program will contact the Division of Adult Probation and Parole created in Section 64-14-202, if required by law; anda description of:the lodging, food, clothing, and other resources that are available to a participant;the nature and scope of the residential vocational or life skills program, including any activities or work that a participant is required to perform;the scope and substance of peer-led activities;the types of vocational training available to a participant, including the limitations on availability;the nature and extent of possible exposure to profanity, accusation, confrontation, nonphysical threats, or nonphysical corrective interaction;the terms of any prohibition from contact with a participant’s family, friends, or associates; andany crimes committed within the previous two years at the residential vocational or life skills program facility or at a vocational training entity affiliated with the residential vocational or life skills program.
13-53-107 - Participant screening.
13-53-107(1) A residential vocational or life skills program shall interview and screen all prospective participants for medical prescriptions, physical and mental health history, and recent alcohol or drug use. 13-53-107(2) Unless an individual obtains a medical clearance from a physician or physician assistant, a residential vocational or life skills program may not have as a participant an individual who:has a recent diagnosis of a mental, social, psychiatric, or psychological illness; orhas an active prescription for medication for a mental, social, psychiatric, or psychological illness. 13-53-107(3) A residential vocational or life skills program may not admit a minor.
13-53-108 - Financial requirements.
13-53-108(1) When applying for registration under Subsection 13-53-103(2), an applicant shall demonstrate fiscal responsibility by providing evidence to the division that the residential vocational or life skills program:is financially sound; andreasonably has the fiscal ability to fulfill commitments and obligations to the participants of the residential vocational or life skills program. 13-53-108(2) Evidence acceptable to satisfy the requirement described in Subsection (1) includes:for a residential vocational or life skills program that has been in operation less than one fiscal year:pro forma financial statements until further information described in Subsection (2)(b) is available; anda commercial credit report for the residential vocational or life skills program; orfor a residential vocational or life skills program that has completed a fiscal year, and as soon as the residential vocational or life skills program completes its first fiscal year:a current financial statement, with all applicable footnotes, for the most recent fiscal year, including a balance sheet, a statement of income, a statement of retained earnings, and a statement of cash flow; anda certified fiscal audit of the residential vocational or life skills program’s financial statement, performed by a certified or licensed public accountant. 13-53-108(3) In evaluating a residential vocational or life skills program’s fiscal responsibility, the division may consider:any judgment, tax lien, collection action, bankruptcy schedule, or history of late payments to creditors;documentation showing the resolution of a matter described in Subsection (3)(a);the residential vocational or life skills program’s explanation for a matter described in Subsection (3)(a);a guarantee agreement provided for the residential vocational or life skills program; andhistory of a prior entity that:is owned or operated by any individual who is an officer, a director, or an administrator of the residential vocational or life skills program; andhas failed to maintain fiscal responsibility. 13-53-108(4) The division may require evidence of financial status at other times when it is in the best interest of the program participants to require the information. 13-53-108(5) The division may perform a fiscal audit of a residential vocational or life skills program. 13-53-108(6) A residential vocational or life skills program shall develop and maintain adequate internal controls for receipt, management, and disbursement of money that are reasonable in light of the residential vocational or life skills program’s organizational complexity.
13-53-109 - Discontinuance of operations.
13-53-109(1) A residential vocational or life skills program that is closing shall adopt a plan for the provision of food, shelter, and clothing for at least 30 days from the date of closure to participants displaced by the closure. 13-53-109(2) At least 30 days before the day on which the residential vocational or life skills program will close, the residential vocational or life skills program shall provide written notice to the division of:the intended date of closure; andthe plan described in Subsection (1).
13-53-110 - Enforcement.
13-53-110(1) The division may investigate facilities and enforce this chapter under the authority described in Chapter 2, Division of Consumer Protection. 13-53-110(2) To monitor the welfare of participants and transitional graduates, if any, and to monitor the safe operation of a residential vocational or life skills program, the division shall:annually perform an on-site inspection of a registered residential vocational or life skills program;refer each concern that the division identifies during the on-site inspection to the state or municipal entity responsible for the area of concern; andcoordinate with each relevant state and municipal entity to monitor the residential vocational or life skills program’s compliance with the entity’s relevant health and safety regulations. 13-53-110(3) In addition to penalties established by this chapter and in addition to the enforcement authority described in Chapter 2, Division of Consumer Protection, the division may:issue a cease and desist order;impose an administrative fine of up to $2,500 for each violation of this chapter; andseek injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction. 13-53-110(4) All money received from fines imposed under this section shall be deposited into the Consumer Protection Education and Training Fund, created in Section 13-2-8.
13-53-111 - Recidivism reporting requirements.
13-53-111(1) On or before August 31 of each year, a residential vocational or life skills program shall collect and report data on recidivism of participants to the State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. 13-53-111(2) The report described in Subsection (1) shall include the metrics and requirements described in Section 63M-7-102. 13-53-111(3) The State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice shall include the information provided under this section in the report described in Subsection 63M-7-204(1)(x).