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Sen. Tammy Nichols advances changes to Idaho Safe Haven Act to speed placement of abandoned infants
Summary
A proposed revision to Idaho Code 39-8202 would require the Department of Health and Welfare to maintain a list of licensed adoption agencies, set timelines for custody transfer and tribal notification, and emphasize coordination with tribes and adoption agencies. The committee voted to send the draft to print.
Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Dist. 10, introduced a legislative service request, RS 32140, to amend section 39-8202 of the Idaho Code and update procedures under the Idaho Safe Haven Act to clarify placement and notification steps when infants are left at Safe Haven locations.
Nichols said the draft would require the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to maintain a list of licensed adoption agencies for placement of infants left under Safe Haven provisions, require custody transfer to a selected agency within 24 hours unless urgent circumstances exist, and, when a child requires medical care and no adoptive family is available within 48 hours, keep the child in a hospital while the court and prosecutor are notified and a shelter-care hearing is scheduled. She also said the bill would require immediate notification to a child’s tribe or the Bureau of Indian Affairs and issuance of required notices within 10 days when an Indian child is suspected, noting the Indian Child Welfare Act would apply in those cases.
"If you're not familiar with the Safe Haven Act ... there are places in facilities like fire stations, hospitals, where birth mothers can leave their babies if they do not want to parent them," Nichols said. She told the committee the changes are intended to place abandoned children with vetted, ready adoptive families and reduce entry into the foster-care system.
Nichols told senators the changes emphasize coordination with tribes on language and policy and that she had worked with the Department of Health and Welfare director on implementation details. She also stated that the legislation is advisory on fiscal impact and "does not result in increased cost to the state general fund or impose additional financial burdens on state or local governments."
Committee members asked for additional information that Nichols said she would include in a full hearing presentation, including how many Safe Haven boxes exist in Idaho and historical use of them, and about the process if a parent later seeks to reclaim a child. After discussion, the committee moved to send RS 32140 to print; the motion carried.
The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript; the motion was moved by Senator Keiser and seconded by Senator Zieterfeld.
The committee will consider the printed bill when it is formally introduced and may hold a full hearing for additional detail.
