Program for Utahns with disabilities loses its license following deaths of 3 clients left in van

State regulators have revoked a Utah company’s license to provide day treatment after police said three men with disabilities died after they were left in a running van in an employee’s home garage. But the business still has a contract with the state to provide other sorts of services. 

Safe and Sound Services in Salt Lake City must end its day treatment program by the end of the month and cannot reapply for the license for five years, said Shannon Thoman-Black, director of the Division of Licensing and Background Checks within the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. She called the business’ noncompliance with state standards “severe.” 

“Safe and Sound does have other programs, and I cannot speak to those right now,” Thoman-Black said at a Wednesday news conference. 

A spokesperson for the department confirmed the state has at least one contract with the company for other services but did not have any details Wednesday about the agreement and whether it will continue. 

The license revocation is the second measure of accountability following the Feb. 6 deaths of Colton Warren Moser, 25; Mosa’ati Moa, 22; and Tim Jones, 39.

Last month, prosecutors charged transport driver Isaiah Vaughn Pulu, 25, with three counts of murder in their deaths. Charging documents say Pulu told investigators one of the men “was being rowdy,” so he decided to take them for a drive and stopped at his home in West Valley City to eat and watch television while leaving the garage door open. Prosecutors say when he returned about four hours later, the door was closed and the men were unconscious. 

Pulu had been reprimanded a month earlier by his employer for “client abandonment” after leaving three people unsupervised for a half-hour while they were waiting for transport, charging documents say. It’s not clear whether they’re the same three who died last month. Pulu’s attorney has previously told Utah News Dispatch that what happened was a “tragic accident.” 

The Department of Health and Human Services took immediate action that day, stopping the program from accepting new clients while it investigated, Thoman-Black told reporters. 

In a notice dated March 2, the department notified Safe and Sound its only license was being pulled and listed instances of noncompliance on the part of the business in the last two years. 

Most were issued on Feb. 24, after the men’s deaths. They include broad findings that the business didn’t meet state standards for supervision, protecting clients from harm and conducting background checks.  

In January, the company was cited for not having training records, the notice said. Almost two years earlier, March 2024, it was found to be noncompliant for allowing an employee to work directly with clients and without supervision before clearing a background check and because employees did not complete suicide prevention training. 

The Disability Law Center, a watchdog organization granted authority by the federal government to investigate care agencies, criticized the department in 2023 for allowing long-term facilities to continue operating despite serious safety issues.  

Thoman-Black said her department will work with the clients currently in the day program and those in Safe and Sound’s support systems to help them find a new agency. A voicemail left at a publicly listed number for the business wasn’t immediately returned Wednesday. 

She urged Utahns to look up licensing records for programs serving their loved ones. 

“And if you have any concerns, if you’ve seen something, if your loved one has told you something, please go to our website and report that concern,” she said. 

Safe and Sound has 15 days to appeal the decision to the Department of Health and Human Services. 

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