AMERICAN FORK, Utah (ABC4) – A Utah County business’s license has been limited by the Utah Department of Human Services after police said an 11-year-old boy died when he was left inside a hot car for at least two hours earlier this week.
In a Notice of Agency Action letter from the state of Utah, which you can read here, Roost Services, a company that provides service to intellectually disabled people, learned it is now on conditional status.
For as long as the NAA is in effect, the letter describes the business cannot take on any new clients; they must provide weekly staff schedules with daily client counts, to the Office at least three days before each workweek begins as a way to demonstrate compliance with staffing requirements; and the business must cooperate with investigating agencies.
When it comes to company policy for employees and clients in a car, former prosecutor and current defense attorney, Greg Skordas, said he does not believe – in this kind of situation – policies and procedures within a company wouldn’t make a difference.
“I don’t think policies and procedures within the company would make a difference. I mean, everyone knows you don’t leave a kid in a car – no matter if an employer tells you that or not,” he told ABC4 News. “Everyone knows when it’s 98 degrees outside, you don’t walk away from a car with an unattended child inside it. Those are obvious things and so, whether or not the employee was told to do or not to do that, it’s not relevant. What’s relevant is that they allowed that to occur, apparently.”
Police said an investigation is underway to determine if there will be any criminal charges, as a result of the boy’s death.
