Idaho S 1307: ADOPTION – Amends existing law to prohibit adoption placement or advertisement by unlicensed entities.

Bill Text

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
Sixty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session - 2024
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1307
BY HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE
AN ACT1
RELATING TO ADOPTION; AMENDING SECTION 18-1511, IDAHO CODE, TO PROHIBIT2
PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN BY UNLICENSED ORGANIZATIONS AND TO MAKE TECHNI-3
CAL CORRECTIONS; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE4
DATE.5
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:6
SECTION 1. That Section 18-1511, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby7
amended to read as follows:8
18-1511. SALE OR BARTER OF CHILD FOR ADOPTION OR OTHER PURPOSE PENAL-9
IZED -- ALLOWED EXPENSES. (1) Any person or persons who shall sell or barter10
any child for adoption or for any other purpose, shall be guilty of a felony,11
and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment in the state peniten-12
tiary for not no more than fourteen (14) years, or by a fine of not no more13
than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both such fine and imprisonment.14
Any person or organization that, without holding either a valid and unre-15
voked license to place children for adoption issued by the Idaho department16
of health and welfare, or a valid and unrevoked license to practice law in17
Idaho, advertises in any periodical or newspaper, by radio, or other pub-18
lic medium, that the person or organization will place children for adoption19
or accept, supply, provide, or obtain children for adoption, or that causes20
any advertisement to be published in or by any public medium soliciting, re-21
questing, or asking for any child or children for adoption is guilty of a mis-22
demeanor. Any person, other than a birth parent, or any organization, asso-23
ciation, or corporation that, without holding a valid and unrevoked license24
to place children for adoption issued by the department, places any child for25
adoption is guilty of a misdemeanor.26
(2) Provided however, this section shall not prohibit any person, or27
adoption agency from providing, in addition to legal and medical costs, rea-28
sonable maternity and living expenses during the pregnancy and for a period29
not to exceed six (6) weeks post partum postpartum based upon on demonstrated30
financial need.31
(3) Any person or agency, seeking to provide financial assistance in32
excess of five hundred dollars ($500) shall do so after informally submit-33
ting to a court of competent jurisdiction, a verified financial plan outlin-34
ing proposed expenditures. The court may approve or amend such a proposal.35
Only after court approval shall assistance totaling more than five hundred36
dollars ($500) become available to the birth parent. A prospective adoptive37
parent, or another person acting on behalf of a prospective adoptive parent,38
shall make payments for allowed expenses only to third-party vendors, as is39
reasonably practical. All actual expenditures shall be presented by veri-40
fied affidavit of counsel or the agency at the time of the adoption finaliza-41
tion.42

2
(4) No financial assistance to a birth parent shall exceed the sum of1
two thousand dollars ($2,000) unless otherwise authorized by the court. The2
financial assistance contemplated by this section shall be considered a3
charitable gift, not subject to recovery under the terms of section 16-1515,4
Idaho Code.5
SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby6
declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after7
July 1, 2024.8