BOISE, ID – An Idaho legislative task force is preparing to propose a complete re-write of the state’s child custody code.

The Child Custody and Domestic Relations Task Force met Wednesday to discuss its legislative proposals compiled after hours of meetings with testimony from judges, attorneys, parents, social workers, advocates and others.

“It’s like we’re playing catch up from years and years and years of problems,” task force member Sen. Carl Bjerke, R-Coeur d’Alene, said Wednesday.

Multiple proposals are expected to result from the task force, but the primary one will be an overhaul of Idaho Code Section 32-717, which involves custody in divorce actions. The potential changes include a baseline 50/50 joint custody presumption unless there is a “clear evidence of danger,” a requirement that children’s wishes be considered, added expirations on temporary protective orders unless a hearing is held, and new definitions.

The exact draft bill proposal wasn’t available Wednesday. Co-Chair Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, said changes were still being made.

There will also be a proposal to clarify that police must enforce violations of custody orders, and to require a wealthier parent to pay attorneys fees for the other parent in cases where there is a substantial resource imbalance.

The proposed changes and a “white paper” report outlining the issues in the family court system discussed during the task force hearings were presented by Mila Wood, a volunteer who worked with the task force.

Many of the proposed changes were included in a framework that task force members discussed in November. 

Proposal focuses on parental rights, but adds child safety, domestic violence safeguards 

Wood said the proposed legislation would “significantly reduce erroneous deprivations of parental rights, improve due process compliance, and create statewide uniformity and custody cases.”

She also said she worked with advocates of Kayden’s Law, which are a collection of laws to prioritize child safety in custody cases. Part of the law and the proposed legislative changes are meant to strengthen protections for both the parent and children in cases that involve domestic violence.

The Kayden’s Law framework would prohibit unsupervised visits if the parent had a history of abuse or domestic violence, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.

The bill would also add to domestic violence statutes a definition of “coercive control,” or a “pattern of domination including intimidation, isolation, monitoring, economic abuse, and psychological manipulation,” according to meeting materials provided Wednesday.

Wood said a repeated issue brought up in hearings was that domestic violence was being framed in some court cases as “mutual conflict.”

“I think that kind of speaks to training,” Wood said. “A lot of the domestic violence health agencies I spoke with just said that there really is a lack of training and understanding of what a domestic violence survivor goes through and how that might apply in the actions or reactions.”

Proposed bill would add custody interference to kidnapping law 

A repeated complaint in testimony was, although the law related to child custody court orders resides in the criminal code, law enforcement often did not feel empowered to enforce a civil matter.

Task force members on Wednesday discussed a proposal to add “child custody interference,” to the kidnapping code, while adding escalating penalties for multiple offenses. Wood said she is working with Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, to finalize a draft of the bill.

Child custody interference would include knowingly and unlawfully taking away, withholding, concealing or failing to return a minor child in violation of a court custody order.

The proposed penalties include a $50 fine for the first offense and a $300 fine for a second offense that happens within 12 months of the first. A third offense within two years would be a misdemeanor crime, with a fine up to $1,000 and incarceration for up to two weekends in jail.

The proposed bill would include exceptions for actions taken with “articulatable facts” that the child faced imminent physical harm or required urgent medical care.

The proposal would also enumerate law enforcement’s duties in these cases, including accepting, documenting and filing reports when a criminal complaint is made and to conduct an immediate welfare check on the child.

Lawmakers plan to workshop legislation ahead of 2026 session 

The task force cannot pass legislation, but it may present recommendations for fellow lawmakers to consider during the legislative session. Legislative Services Office bill drafters are expected to give members the updated proposal early next week.

Scott and co-Chair Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton, told the Sun that the task force won’t meet again but the hope is that members will look at the ideas and decide to bring proposed legislation themselves during the session, which begins Jan. 12.

Scott said Wednesday that she and other lawmakers have repeatedly heard complaints about the judges presiding over family court cases. The courts have constitutionally protected separation of power from the Legislature to enforce laws. Scott said she wanted to focus on what was in the lawmakers’ purview.

“I’m hearing, ‘you need to get rid of the judges.’ ‘The judges need this.’ ‘The judges need that,’” Scott said. “How can we expect to look at our judges honestly, and say they’re not doing a good job or they are, if we are not clear in our law?”

This story first appeared on Idaho Capital Sun.