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Senate committee advances bill to shorten review timelines and allow caregiver bond in best-interest analysis
Summary
Senate Bill 10-90 would tighten custody-review timelines in Idaho's Child Protective Act and add the foster childcaretaker bond as a factor in best-interest determinations. Sponsors and a foster parent testified that the change would reduce trauma caused by prolonged uncertainty.
Senator Cody Galloway, R-West Boise, told the Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee he is sponsoring Senate Bill 10-90 to accelerate permanency decisions for children in foster care and to allow judges to consider the bond between a child and a long-term substitute caregiver when determining the child's best interest.
The change is meant to reduce the time children spend in legal limbo and to allow courts to consider the emotional ties formed with foster caregivers alongside other established factors.
Galloway said the bill makes two principal changes: it alters custody-review timelines (the bill text describes adjustments in the months used for review oversight) and permits judges to weigh the bond between foster child and substitute caretaker, the biological parent's efforts and their ability to live law-abiding lives when assessing best interest.
Natalie Baum, a constituent and foster parent who later adopted two children in her home, testified about lengthy delays in termination hearings that left the children in uncertain placements for nearly two years. Baum described a case in which a judge said the system had "failed" the children because by the time a termination trial was reached the biological parent had technically met the case plan. She said guardianship then became the only practical path for the foster family to keep the children in a stable home.
Senator Brent Shippey moved to send SB 10-90 to the Senate floor with a due pass recommendation; Senator Keiser seconded. The committee approved the motion by voice vote; the transcript records the motion carried with no recorded opposition.
Ending: The bill advances to the Senate floor with a due pass recommendation; supporters said the change would shorten case review periods and produce savings to the state by reducing foster care costs tied to prolonged placements.
