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RS 31987 would move foster-care licensing rules into statute and change firearm requirement, sponsor says department will produce safety video
Summary
Senator Brandon Shippey asked the committee to print RS 31987, which moves foster-care licensing provisions into statute and removes a requirement that foster parents lock firearms and ammunition in separate locations; sponsors said the Department of Health and Welfare will create a firearm-safety educational video for prospective foster parents.
Senator Brandon Shippey, of District 9, asked the Senate Health and Welfare Committee to print RS 31987. The proposal would eliminate several sections of the Idaho Administrative Procedures Act relating to foster-care licensing and incorporate necessary components into statute as part of the Child Care Licensing Reform Act.
Shippey told the committee he brought the change in part to address a firearm-storage requirement that he said discouraged potential foster parents. "As a foster parent, this is a sacrifice our family made," Shippey said, explaining his view that requiring firearms and ammunition to be locked separately discouraged some applicants and placed foster parents in a "vulnerable position." He said the department supports the change.
Rather than impose specific regulatory requirements about how firearms must be stored, Shippey said the Department of Health and Welfare will produce an educational video on gun safety and include it in the orientation for licensing. "Education is going to be more important," he said, adding that training can address varying needs depending on the age and behavioral profile of children placed in foster care.
Senator Melissa Wintrow asked how the proposal would guard against increased accessibility of firearms to children. Shippey responded that written rules specifying firearm storage can be tricky to enforce because the department does not observe households daily and that an educational approach, he believes, will be more valuable. The committee voted to send RS 31987 to print.
Why it matters: RS 31987 would shift licensing language into statute and change how firearm safety is handled for foster parents: replacing a prescriptive storage mandate with a department-produced educational component for orientation and licensing.
Next steps: RS 31987 was sent to print for introduction; additional details and the department—s proposed education content and enforcement implications are expected to be addressed at the committee hearing.
