Committee backs bill to formalize 14-day reviews of unlicensed congregate foster placements

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee on Jan. 29 voted to send Senate Bill 1035 to the floor with a "do pass" recommendation. The sponsor, Senator Melissa Wintrow, said the bill builds on reforms passed in 2024 and is designed to ensure licensed facilities can meet foster children's treatment needs while preserving important safeguards against the use of unregulated group care.

Senator Wintrow described the legislative history and context: after the 2024 session and enactment of Senate Bill 1379 (effective July 1, 2024), Idaho moved to restrict placements of foster children in previously unregulated congregate settings such as short-term rentals and hotels. "In 2024, there were 75 foster children who were placed in short term rentals," Wintrow said, and some children were under age 2. She said the 2024 reforms removed the worst uses of such settings and that "the Department of Health and Welfare ' reported there are no children in Airbnbs," crediting the prior statute and department action for that outcome.

SB 1035 would keep the restrictions on unregulated group care while clarifying the director's authority and oversight for placements in licensed and unlicensed congregate settings. Specifically, for a child placed in an unlicensed group care setting (including an Airbnb), the bill requires the director to review the placement every 14 days and to assess the child's safety, treatment needs, facility services, treatment plan, progress toward discharge and discharge plan. If the director finds the placement appropriate, the director may approve it; if not, the director must locate a new appropriate placement, the sponsor said.

Senator Wintrow said providers, the Department of Health and Welfare and child advocates, including Idaho Voices for Children, supported the drafted language. Testimony before the committee included Craig Anderson, owner of Hinge Point Youth Homes, who said providers and the department had collaborated to draft the revised language and that the changes were "unanimously agreed to by the providers that were involved, by the department, as well as other organizations." Britney Shipley, a resident and advocate, testified in support citing trauma-informed care and timely assessments.

Committee members asked whether the 14-day review requirement would require additional staffing at the department. Senator Zieterfeld asked whether the frequent reviews might add strain; Senator Wintrow and supporters said the reviews are aimed at providing director-level oversight without pulling treatment staff away from children. "No other staff was hired at that time," Wintrow said of the 2024 implementation, and the bill's language was crafted with department input to balance oversight and operational capacity.

Senator Blaylock moved the committee's recommendation that SB 1035 be sent to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. The committee record shows vocal approval; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.

If enacted, SB 1035 would require regular director reviews of certain congregate placements and clarify the director's authority to approve or require relocation from unlicensed settings.