Utah cites Jensens on donations paperwork
The citation was issued Monday after several attempts to reach Tracy Jensen, the family member in charge of the account, were unsuccessful, division director Francine Giani said. If the matter is not settled in the next 10 days, the citation could result in fines of between $500 and $10,000 for the Sandy parents who spent the summer locked in a custody battle for their son with the state.
The fight for 12-year-old Parker began in June after his parents, Daren and Barbara Jensen, disagreed with doctors about chemotherapy treatments for the rare form of bone cancer from which doctors said the boy suffered. The dispute brought the family to the attention of the Division of Child and Family Services and resulted in a custody fight in the juvenile courts and criminal charges against Daren and Barbara Jensen.
The saga ended in October after the state withdrew its petition for custody and the Jensens pleaded to misdemeanor charges.
Utah's Charitable Solicitations Act allows for "temporary" charities to be established by private citizens or organizations in times of crisis, such as deaths or life-threatening illnesses. In early September, amid a groundswell of public support, Tracy Jensen, who is Daren Jensen's brother, set up the donation account at Zions Bank. Notices about the account appeared in news media reports and on the family Web site, MyChildMyChoice.org.
In cases of life-threatening illnesses, the state requires a letter on file from the physician who had diagnosed the disease and is providing care before funds can be collected. In the Jensen's case, Boise-based Dr. Martin Johnston wrote the letter and diagnosed Parker's disease but was not providing the boy's care.
"So that makes his letter fall outside of what was required," Giani said.
The letter was disqualified, putting the Jensen fund out of compliance, and when Tracy Jensen didn't respond to letters sent over the past several weeks, the division had no choice but to file a citation, she added.
"You can't just be out there raising money and not let us know kind of where we are," Giani said. "We do not want this to be an agitated kind of reaction. We just want everybody to be in compliance."
Both sides said they were talking Wednesday afternoon in hopes of resolving the matter quickly.
Tracy Jensen acknowledged that he had received letters asking him to stop collecting donations but that he was out of town and could not respond. Information provided to him by the division was "not very good," he said, and he misunderstood that Johnston's letter would be rejected because Daren and Barbara decided to seek care elsewhere. The family is now seeking a letter from the physician who is providing Parker's care.
You can be the first to comment on this story.