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Senate panel advances bill letting juvenile court authorize investigative warrants for welfare checks, sponsor pledges clarifying language
Summary
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced SB 124 to the floor after the sponsor added an amendment clarifying the new investigative warrant would not authorize removal; supporters say it speeds child-safety assessments, opponents warn it lowers the warrant standard and risks intrusive entries.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee voted 6–3 on Jan. 27 to recommend SB 124 to the Senate floor with amendments and a sponsor commitment to tighten language. Sen. Luz Escamilla, the bill’s sponsor, told the committee the measure would give the Division of Child and Family Services and law enforcement a court-supervised tool to "get eyes on a child" when a credible threat to the child’s health, safety or welfare exists and prior attempts to see the child have failed.
The bill would authorize a juvenile-court-issued investigative warrant that — with judicial approval — would permit peace officers and child-welfare caseworkers to enter a home to assess a child’s safety when access is refused, advocates said. "This is about…
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