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Committee backs bill to shorten review timelines in foster‑care and speed permanency decisions
Summary
Senate Bill 1090 shortens review intervals and adjusts custody timelines in the Child Protective Act to speed permanency decisions for children in foster care; the committee voted to send the bill to the floor with a 'do pass' recommendation after sponsor, a constituent and Department of Health and Welfare staff testified.
Representative Healy and Senator Galloway presented Senate Bill 1090 as a change to the Child Protective Act intended to put children into stable, permanent homes sooner by increasing court oversight and shortening procedural timelines.
Representative Healy described the changes: the bill allows judges to consider "the bond the foster child has formed with the substitute caretaker" and shortens review hearings from six months to two months. She told the committee the custody timeline changes “allow for more frequent court oversight and bring the following benefits to the kids and families” including quicker resolution whether through reunification or adoption and state savings from shorter foster placements.
The bill was driven by constituent testimony. Natalie Baum described two foster children in her home whose case was delayed by the court system. Baum said the children were in care for 22 months before a termination trial and that a short delay allowed a parent to present three months of sobriety and employment that the judge found constrained his ability to order termination. “The law said that because she had technically completed her case plan, reunification had to be the goal even though there were still serious, safety concerns,” Baum said. She told the committee the bill provides judges a tool to prioritize children’s safety and permanency when cases drag on.
Jared Larson, legislative and regulatory affairs chief at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, said the amendment and timeline changes place consented terminations on equal footing and that more frequent hearings represent an intensive case‑management approach intended to resolve cases more quickly and reduce total foster‑care costs.
Representative Wheeler moved to send S.B. 1090 to the floor with a "do pass" recommendation; the committee approved the motion by voice vote and recorded the bill as sent to the floor with a due pass recommendation. The bill will proceed to the chamber floor for further consideration.
