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Committee sends to print proposal to remove extra juvenile hearing requirement tied to Idaho Supreme Court interpretation
Summary
The committee voted to send RS 31804C1 to print. The Department of Health and Welfare said the change is intended to restore the prior practice after a state Supreme Court interpretation requiring an additional hearing in certain juvenile custody cases.
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send RS 31804C1 to print after a presentation from Jared Larson of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Larson described the RS as restoring the preexisting practice after an Idaho Supreme Court interpretation of Idaho Code §16-2005(8) appeared to require an additional hearing in some juvenile-custody matters.
Jared Larson, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Chief with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, told the committee the department wants to “restore the status quo ante before that judicial opinion so that additional hearing is not required.” Larson said the additional hearing generally added “2 to 4 months based on the court's calendar” to a youth’s time in state custody and that the department’s stated goal is achieving permanency for youth “as soon as possible.” He said the department will bring subject-matter experts to a full hearing to explain the change and its effects.
Senator Wintrow said she supported sending the RS to print and requested that the department bring experts to the public hearing so the committee could better balance parental rights with permanency concerns.
Motion and vote: Senator Wintrow moved to send RS 31804C1 to print; Senator Harris seconded. The motion passed on a voice vote.
The sponsor said the change would eliminate a hearing the Supreme Court found necessary under current statutory language even when parents had stipulated to termination of parental rights; the department characterized that hearing as “entirely superfluous.” A print referral schedules a formal hearing where experts and stakeholders can present testimony.
