Senate committee advances Safe Haven Act changes to speed placement of abandoned infants

Senate Health and Welfare Committee members voted to send RS 32140, a sponsor-introduced amendment to Idaho's Safe Haven Act, to print after a brief presentation and questions.

Senator Tammy Nichols, R‑District 10, told the committee the bill "amends section 39‑8202 of the Idaho Code" and would require the Department of Health and Welfare to maintain "a list of licensed adoption agencies" for placement of infants left under Safe Haven provisions. Nichols said the measure would ensure custody is transferred to a selected agency within 24 hours unless there are urgent circumstances, and that if a child requires medical care and no adoptive family is found within 48 hours the child would remain in a hospital while the court and prosecutors are notified for a shelter care hearing.

The bill also addresses federally recognized tribal jurisdiction when an infant may be an Indian child. "If there is reason to believe that the child is an Indian child, then the Indian Child Welfare Act, also known as ICWA, jurisdiction applies and the department must immediately notify the child's tribe or the Bureau of Indian Affairs, issuing all required notices within 10 days," Nichols said.

Nichols described the intent as placing abandoned children with vetted, ready adoptive families to avoid unnecessary entries into the foster system. She said the measure "does not result in increased cost to the state general fund or impose additional financial burdens on state or local governments" and that the amendments "primarily serve to clarify and streamline existing procedures for the placement of abandoned children."

Committee members asked how placements work now and how they would change under the draft. Senator Harris asked, "So the bill makes the change that the department will maintain a list of licensed adoption agencies and then the Indian child. What happens to them now?" Nichols replied, "So right now, they would go into the foster care system." Senator Wintrow asked for additional data at a later hearing, including how many Safe Haven boxes exist in Idaho and whether children have been left in them; Nichols offered to include that information in a fuller presentation.

Senator Keiser moved to send RS 32140 to print; Senator Zieterfeld seconded. The committee voice-voted in favor.

If advanced as drafted, RS 32140 would tighten placement procedures for infants left under Idaho's Safe Haven law, add explicit timelines for custody transfer and hospital retention when medical care is required, and require prompt tribal notification where ICWA may apply. The resolution as presented is intended to be implemented by the Department of Health and Welfare and, per the sponsor, would not carry new state general‑fund costs.

The committee did not hold a full evidentiary hearing at the time of the motion; Senator Nichols indicated she would stand for questions and provide additional materials if the committee requests them.