Adoption, residency exception
ADOPTION – Amends existing law to provide an exception to residency requirements in certain adoption proceedings.

RS30461 / S1126

Children in foster care may be adopted by families and relatives who do not live in Idaho. According to Section 16-1506, Idaho Code, before a family can petition a court for adoption in Idaho they must reside in and maintain a dwelling in Idaho for six (6) consecutive months. It is in the best interest of foster children and the state that adoptions do not require an out-of-state family to reside in Idaho for six (6) consecutive months. This requirement delays a permanent home for some children and keeps the state involved with children and adoptive families lives longer than is required or helpful. In some cases, adoption and the permanent home have been delayed for years. This change allows children to achieve timely permanency the court has sufficient information about the child and family to finalize the adoption.

The projected impact is negligible. There will be some small savings to the state when children achieve permanency earlier; however, the cases are rare enough that they will not result in a significant savings.

Bill Events
Date Description
02/27 Introduced; read first time; referred to JR for Printing
02/28 Reported Printed; referred to Health & Welfare
03/03 Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation; Filed for second reading
03/06 Read second time; filed for Third Reading
03/08 Read third time in full – PASSED - 29-6-0
AYES – Adams, Anthon, Bernt, Burtenshaw, Cook, Den Hartog, Dunn(Carlson), Foreman, Grow, Guthrie, Harris, Hart, Hartgen, Just, Lakey, Lee, Lent, Okuniewicz, Rabe, Ricks, Ruchti, Schroeder, Semmelroth, Taylor, VanOrden, Ward-Engelking, Winder, Wintrow, Zuiderveld
NAYS – Bjerke, Herndon, Lenney, Nichols, Toews, Trakel
Absent and excused – None
Floor Sponsor - VanOrden
Title apvd - to House
03/13 Received from the Senate, Filed for First Reading
Read First Time, Referred to Judiciary, Rules & Administration
close