Idaho Bills

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the placement of an abandoned child.

This legislation amends Section 39-8202 of Idaho Code relating to the Safe Haven Act by defining terms and adding that the Department of Health and Welfare must maintain a list of licensed adoption agencies for placing abandoned children and transfer custody to a selected agency within 24 hours, unless exigent circumstances exist. If a child requires medical care and no adoptive family is found within 48 hours, the child remains in a hospital, and the court and prosecutor are notified for a shelter care hearing. If there is reason to believe the child is an Indian child, ICWA jurisdiction applies, and the department must send immediate notification to the child’s tribe or the Bureau of Indian Affairs, issuing all required notices within ten days.