Health and Welfare panel approves package of Department of Health and Welfare rule changes, embraces foster-care reforms

The House Health and Welfare Committee on April 17 approved a large package of administrative-rule dockets submitted by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, moving forward temporary foster-care rules, repealing the state's existing hospital-licensing chapter pending a companion bill, and consolidating emergency medical services (EMS) rules into a single chapter.

Committee members approved the dockets by voice vote after staff and department officials described the scope of the package and answered questions. Director Alex Adams, who opened the committee’s rules session, framed the department’s approach as a large effort to “pare back” rules and return policy decisions to elected lawmakers. Adams said the department has roughly 1,200 pages of rules — “one fourth of every administrative rule in the state” — and that he plans a series of bills this session to move selected material into statute and reduce regulatory volume.

The committee debated and approved several temporary and pending rules affecting child welfare and foster-care licensure. Jared Larson, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs chief for the department, said the foster-care changes aim to remove unnecessary obstacles to recruitment and retention of foster families. Larson said the department’s goal is to increase the ratio of foster families to foster children; he noted the ratio rose from about 74 per 100 children to 94 per 100 and that the department’s objective is 150 per 100. Larson and child-welfare staff said some temporary rules already in effect have increased foster-family sign-ups without measurable declines in safety metrics such as placement stability and repeat maltreatment.

Key foster-care rule points described to the committee include:

- Crisis-level flexibility: A temporary rule allows the department discretionary, time-limited additional payments to Family Alternate Care Providers when insufficient foster homes are available for particular needs (for example, large sibling groups or children with higher acuity). Department staff said such payments historically have been used sparingly and, in prior discussions, a figure of about $150 per child per day was discussed as an emergency-level payment to avoid out-of-state placements.

- Administrative-review changes for the Child Protection Central Registry: The rules clarify the department’s notice and appeals process for individuals substantiated for abuse, neglect or abandonment. Department staff said the department must provide its information to the person within 14 days so that the person may prepare a response; the person then has 28 days to request an administrative review. Staff emphasized that the central registry is a closed registry released only with a signed authorization during employment or background checks and that the registry entry does not include the underlying investigative details.

- Visitation protections: A temporary rule imposes requirements for supervised visitation for parents substantiated at a level 1 or level 2 for abuse-related findings. The rule requires direct supervision at all times during visits and prohibits a child from sitting on the parent's lap or having unmonitored conversations in those situations.

- Adoption facilitation: One temporary filing waives adoption fees for adoptions that occur out of the department’s custody and removes duplicative home-study requirements when a home study has already been completed while the child was in custody.

- Licensing and procedural changes: The foster-care licensing dockets incorporate the Trump-era National Model Licensing Standards (the “reasonable and prudent parent” standard), permit the department to absorb costs of reasonable accommodations (for example, smoke detectors or fire extinguishers) to meet safety standards, and lower the minimum age for foster parents from 21 to 18 in limited circumstances (for example, where an 18-year-old sibling is the best placement option).

Committee members pressed department staff about procedural protections and implementation. Representative Rubel asked whether the 14-day requirement in the rule was a deadline for the department or for the individual; Bureau Chief Andy Blackwood said the 14 days is a department deadline to provide information and that individuals have 28 days to request an administrative review after receiving certified notice. Representative Kaler raised concerns about background checks performed “by the next working day” after an adult changes household membership; department staff acknowledged the concern and said they would work with legislators in the interim on possible refinements while stressing practical scenarios where immediate preapproval could be impractical (for example, emergency shelter after a disaster) and the department’s desire to avoid creating barriers that dissuade prospective foster parents.

On home-safety topics, the rules follow national-model language that requires firearms be locked and ammunition stored separately (for example, in a locked box), and licensing workers will be provided thermometers to check water-heater temperatures against a safety standard described in the model rules.

On hospitals and EMS, Larson told the committee the department is repealing the state hospital-licensing chapter and will pursue a companion bill in the Senate to “deem” hospitals licensed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as licensed by the state, to eliminate duplicate regulation. The committee also approved a consolidated EMS chapter that consolidates several chapters into one PDF and reduces continuing-education hours to comply with last year’s House Bill 704. As described by department staff, the consolidated EMS chapter reduces continuing-education requirements to the contiguous-state average (for example, emergency medical responders from 8 to 5 hours; paramedics from 36 to 30 hours).

Committee members repeatedly emphasized they wanted to work with the department between sessions to refine language. Several legislators thanked staff for organizing the large packet and encouraged colleagues to review dockets ahead of the follow-up hearing the next day.

Votes at a glance (voice votes unless otherwise noted): the committee approved a series of rule dockets submitted by the Department of Health and Welfare. Each docket was approved by voice vote and recorded as “motion carries” in committee minutes. (See the structured action log below for docket numbers and movers.)

"What we've tried to do is pare back the department's role to the basics and return decisionmaking back to elected lawmakers," Director Alex Adams told the committee. "We're bringing bills to cut sections of statute and move some decisions out of rule."