[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 146 (Tuesday, October 15, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S7500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO PALMER DePAULIS

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, it is my pleasure to celebrate the career 
of a very dedicated Utah public servant. Palmer DePaulis has served the 
people of Utah for over 30 years, most recently as the executive 
director of Utah Department of Human Services.
  As executive director, Mr. DePaulis has made great strides in 
creating safe and permanent homes for vulnerable children and at-risk 
families. He has instituted a ``System of Care'' approach for children 
and families that creates a partnership between children, their 
families, and caregivers that focuses on an individualized, culturally 
responsive plan to address a variety of mental health challenges so 
that children can be kept in the least restrictive, most integrated, 
and safe setting possible.
  Current law directs the majority of Federal dollars to the least 
desirable outcomes for vulnerable families, namely, removing a child 
from the home and placing them in foster care.
  During the last session of Congress, the Congress passed and the 
President signed legislation I drafted that permits some States to 
apply for and receive waivers for certain rules relative to foster 
care.
  In drafting this legislation, I worked closely with Mr. DePaulis and 
his team to craft policies that would give Utah and other States the 
flexibility to innovate and try different approaches to improving child 
welfare systems.
  I am pleased that Utah was one of the first States to successfully 
apply for and be granted a child welfare waiver. Utah's plan is a 
strategic and forward thinking approach that strives to gain a better 
understanding of the needs and strengths of children and families that 
have experienced child abuse, neglect, and dependency. It acknowledges, 
as a guiding principle, that, whenever possible, children should remain 
safely at home. Utah's wavier proposal adopts a holistic framework to 
provide supportive family services that prevents neglect and abuse and 
bolsters a family's ability to keep a child safe within the home and 
preserve intact families when a family's problems can be addressed 
safely and effectively.
  I am confident that the Utah's waiver, instigated by Mr. DePaulis and 
his team, will result in improved outcomes for children and families.
  In addition to his work in the area of child welfare, Mr. DePaulis 
also oversaw services that have benefited thousands of Utahans. These 
include, but are not limited to: meals to homebound seniors, treatment 
for mental health and substance abuse, and services that help 
individuals with disabilities lead independent and productive lives.
  Prior to joining Utah Department of Human Services, Mr. DePaulis 
served as mayor of Salt Lake City. During his tenure as mayor, Mr. 
DePaulis made the humane treatment of the homeless one of his signature 
issues. He helped open family and men's homeless shelters and worked 
with community partners to highlight the need for a continuum of 
services to ensure shelter residents had access to medical, 
transportation, substance abuse, and mental health services.
  Throughout his long and distinguished career, Mr. DePaulis has worked 
to improve the lives of our most vulnerable and forgotten citizens. 
Utahans and the Nation owe him our gratitude and appreciation.

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