Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Child Welfare topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee approves Department of Health and Welfare package on foster care, contested-case appeals and adoption fees
Summary
The Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee approved a package of temporary and pending Department of Health and Welfare rules affecting foster care placements, contested-case appeals, adoption fees and supervised visitation.
The Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee approved a multi-docket package of temporary and pending rules from the Department of Health and Welfare that make several changes to children and family services, including new definitions for crisis-level placements, contested-case procedures for the Child Protection Central Registry, elimination of adoption fees for children in state custody, and new supervised-visitation requirements for parents substantiated for certain levels of abuse.
Jared Larson, legislative and regulatory affairs chief for the Department, summarized the package and introduced subject-matter experts. The rules include:
- A definition of “crisis level of need” to give the department discretion when foster homes are insufficient, especially for large sibling groups, and to allow different compensation or placement approaches in extreme need situations.
- Changes to contested-case procedures for the Child Protection Central Registry. Larson said the Attorney General’s Office advised the department to promulgate these contested-case rules in order to put the state in a stronger posture to defend ongoing litigation related to the registry.
- Elimination of adoption fees previously charged to families adopting children from state custody. Larson said Director Adams signed that change on his first day in office; the department also updated kinship definitions.
- New supervised-visitation rules for parents substantiated at level 1 or level 2 for certain abuse allegations. Larson explained these provisions require direct supervision at all times, prohibit a child from sitting on the parent's lap during visits, and bar unmonitored conversations between parent and child. The department said the provision was suggested by a newly hired career prosecutor on child-abuse matters.
The committee approved each docket on voice votes. Senator Wintrow commended the department for swift action on visitation protections; Senator Harris moved approval of the consolidated ZBR docket that folds prior temporary rule sets into the permanent chapter and was seconded by Senator Van Orden. When asked, Larson confirmed the contested-case rules were implemented at the Attorney General’s suggestion to respond to litigation.
The transcript does not record detailed roll-call tallies for these voice votes. Following passage, the department said it will continue to consult with the Attorney General and other stakeholders as needed.
