Salt Lake County

Salt Lake County Human Services Department (doing business as Mayors Office / Department Of Human Services) is a U.S. local government entity based in Salt Lake City, Utah that receives federal grants as a prime recipient and sub-recipient across criminal justice, public health, substance abuse treatment, aging and family services programs. The organization operates predominantly as a sub-recipient (85% of recent awards), channeling federal funding through pass-through agreements from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services and other state agencies rather than holding prime grant awards directly.

The county's grant portfolio spans multiple federal grantor agencies, with the Department of Health and Human Services being the dominant customer across three bureaus: the Administration for Community Living (60 awards), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (34 awards), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (15 awards), and the Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Recent prime grants illustrate the organization's core capability areas. The Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded three criminal-justice-focused grants in October 2024: an $825,000 Second Chance Act Reentry Initiative grant (CFDA 16.812) for the Enhancing Access for Reentry Success (EARS) pilot project providing case management and behavioral health interventions to 80 incarcerated adults with behavioral health disorders; a $550,000 Criminal and Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program grant (CFDA 16.745) for the Person-Centered Peer Support Pilot Project embedding three certified peer support specialists in Salt Lake City Justice Court; and a sub-award pass-through to Salt Lake Legal Defender Association for the Right Person In, Right Person Out project serving 100 high-need individuals navigating the criminal justice and behavioral health systems. The county also holds a $1 million Second Chance Act grant (awarded October 2021, completing September 2025) for the Jail Release Resource Center, delivering reentry services including employment assistance, housing referrals, and counseling.

Public health and overdose prevention work includes a cooperative agreement from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (awarded September 2023, extending through August 2028) for the Overdose and Disparity Reduction Program addressing fentanyl and methamphetamine overdose deaths across Salt Lake County's diverse population. The county also holds a $250,000 lead poisoning prevention grant from the National Center for Environmental Health (awarded September 2021, completing September 2026) for targeted population-based interventions in high-risk housing, and a federal grant from the Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control (awarded December 2023, completing December 2027) for lead-based paint hazard control in privately-owned housing.

The sub-award footprint reveals substantial pass-through funding for health department operations. More than 130 sub-awards flow from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services across disease surveillance, HIV prevention and testing, immunization programs, STD intervention services, asthma home visiting, tobacco prevention, community clinical interventions, and maternal and child health block grant activities. Additional sub-awards pass through the Utah Department of Health and Human Services for aging and adult services programs (congregate meals, home-delivered meals, senior health insurance counseling, ombudsman services, supportive services, and preventive health programs) and for home visiting evidence-based programs targeting high-risk families and children. The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and the State of Utah Office for Victims of Crime also serve as prime grantees for sub-awards to the county in influenza and COVID-19 surveillance and victim advocacy services.

Activity has grown moderately over the past five years, from 33 awards in 2022 to a peak of 56 in 2025, with 17 awards recorded through June 2026. The organization faces minimal near-term recompete exposure, with only 4 awards completing within the next twenty-four months. The county's corporate structure includes named subsidiaries for the Sheriff's Office and Center for the Arts, reflecting administrative organization across county departments. Federal grant work is concentrated in health, human services, and criminal justice outcomes — case management, peer support, housing stability, overdose prevention, disease surveillance, and early childhood home visiting — delivered through county health departments, behavioral health services, and sheriff's office partnerships.