Utah Code 26B-6-218. Petition for injunctive relief when caretaker refuses to allow protective services

26B-6-218. Petition for injunctive relief when caretaker refuses to allow protective services.

(1)	When a vulnerable adult is in need of protective services and the caretaker refuses to allow the provision of those services, the division may petition the court for injunctive relief prohibiting the caretaker from interfering with the provision of protective services.

Adult: means an individual who is 18 years old or older. See Utah Code 26B-6-201
Caretaker: means a person or public institution that is entrusted with or assumes the responsibility to provide a vulnerable adult with care, food, shelter, clothing, supervision, medical or other health care, resource management, or other necessities for pecuniary gain, by contract, or as a result of friendship, or who is otherwise in a position of trust and confidence with a vulnerable adult, including a relative, a household member, an attorney-in-fact, a neighbor, a person who is employed or who provides volunteer work, a court-appointed or voluntary guardian, or a person who contracts or is under court order to provide care. See Utah Code 26B-6-201
Division: means the Division of Aging and Adult Services within the department. See Utah Code 26B-6-101
Lacks capacity to consent: is a s defined in Section 76-5-111. See Utah Code 26B-6-201
Protective services: means services to protect a vulnerable adult from abuse, neglect, or exploitation. See Utah Code 26B-6-201
Vulnerable adult: means an elder adult, or a dependent adult who has a mental or physical impairment which substantially affects that person's ability to:

(a)	provide personal protection;

(b)	provide necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, or mental or other health care;

(c)	obtain services necessary for health, safety, or welfare;

(d)	carry out the activities of daily living;

(e)	manage the adult's own financial resources; or

(f)	comprehend the nature and consequences of remaining in a situation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. See Utah Code 26B-6-201
(2)	The division’s petition under Subsection (1) shall allege facts sufficient to show that the vulnerable adult is in need of protective services, that the vulnerable adult either consents or lacks capacity to consent to those services, and that the caretaker refuses to allow the provision of those services.

(3)	The court may, on appropriate findings and conclusions in accordance with Rule 65A, Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, issue an order enjoining the caretaker from interfering with the provision of protective services.

(4)	The petition under Subsection (1) may be joined with a petition under Section 26B-6-217.

Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 308, 2023 General Session