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Recognizing the documented connection between animal abuse and child abuse, this bill creates a system of cross-reporting between child welfare and animal control authorities in Utah. Courts would be required to report certain animal cruelty convictions to the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) every quarter, though a conviction alone could not trigger a child abuse investigation on its own. Animal control officers would be required to notify DCFS if they receive a report of animal abuse or neglect involving a home with a child, notice a child safety concern while investigating an animal case, or take serious enforcement action in a home with children; meanwhile, DCFS caseworkers investigating child abuse would be allowed (but not required) to report suspected animal abuse to animal control or law enforcement, and DCFS could similarly notify animal control authorities when it substantiates child abuse in a home where an animal is present, subject to existing public records laws. The bill also would prohibit a veterinarian's employer from stopping or punishing the veterinarian for reporting suspected animal cruelty.