Idaho Lawmakers Move Toward Sweeping Child Custody Reform—With New Penalties for Violations

By Michael Phillips | CABayNews

Idaho lawmakers are preparing one of the most ambitious overhauls of child custody law in the state’s history—an effort supporters say is long overdue after years of complaints about inconsistent rulings, weak enforcement, and parents losing access to their children without clear findings or due process.

At the center of the effort is Idaho’s Child Custody and Domestic Relations Task Force, a bipartisan panel created in 2025 to examine how family courts operate in practice. After months of testimony from parents, judges, attorneys, law enforcement, social workers, and domestic violence advocates, the task force concluded its work in early December and is now finalizing draft bills for the 2026 legislative session, which begins January 12.

The proposals—first reported by the Idaho Capital Sun—aim to clarify custody standards, strengthen enforcement of court orders, and reduce what task force members describe as “erroneous deprivations of parental rights.”

A System Under Strain

Throughout 2025, the task force heard recurring complaints that Idaho’s family court system varies dramatically by county. Parents described prolonged “temporary” orders that effectively became permanent, sealed proceedings without written findings, and soaring legal costs that forced many to represent themselves.

Law enforcement officers testified that custody disputes are often treated as “civil matters,” even when court orders are ignored—leaving parents with little recourse when visitation is denied or a child is withheld.

Sen. Carl Bjerke (R–Coeur d’Alene) summarized the frustration bluntly:

“It’s like we’re playing catch up from years and years and years of problems.”

A Rewrite of Idaho’s Custody Law

The task force’s flagship proposal is a full rewrite of Idaho Code § 32-717, the statute governing custody decisions in divorce cases. Among the most significant changes:

• A presumption of 50/50 joint custody as the starting point, rebuttable only by clear evidence that such an arrangement would endanger the child.
• Mandatory consideration of the child’s wishes in custody determinations.
• Statewide definitions of key terms to reduce uneven application of the law.
• Expiration dates for temporary protective orders unless a timely hearing is held, addressing concerns that temporary orders can linger without judicial review.

Supporters argue these changes would bring clarity and predictability to a system many families experience as opaque and arbitrary.

Incorporating Child Safety Measures

At the same time, the task force incorporated elements of Kayden’s Law, a federal initiative designed to prioritize child safety in custody cases involving domestic violence. Proposed safeguards include:

• Restrictions on unsupervised visitation for parents with a documented history of abuse.
• Expanded judicial training on domestic violence, aimed at preventing abuse from being mischaracterized as “mutual conflict.”
• A new statutory definition of “coercive control,” encompassing patterns such as intimidation, isolation, economic abuse, and psychological manipulation.

Task force assistant Mila Wood said the combined reforms would “significantly reduce erroneous deprivations of parental rights, improve due process compliance, and create statewide uniformity.”

Criminal Penalties for Custody Interference

One of the most consequential—and controversial—proposals would add “child custody interference” to Idaho’s kidnapping statute.

Under the draft framework, a parent who knowingly withholds, conceals, or fails to return a child in violation of a court order would face escalating penalties:

• First offense: $50 fine
• Second offense (within 12 months): $300 fine
• Third offense (within two years): Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine and up to two weekends in jail

Exceptions would apply if a parent has a reasonable belief of imminent harm or an urgent medical need, supported by articulable facts.

The proposal also mandates that law enforcement accept and file reports as criminal complaints, conduct immediate welfare checks, and provide report numbers to parents—addressing long-standing complaints that police decline to intervene in custody violations.

Addressing Power Imbalances

Additional draft reforms seek to reduce financial inequities in custody litigation, including a requirement that a wealthier parent cover attorney fees for the other when resources are significantly imbalanced. The goal, lawmakers say, is to prevent one parent from leveraging superior finances to dominate prolonged court battles.

What Comes Next

The task force has completed its work and will not reconvene, but its members plan to introduce multiple bills during the 2026 session. While early reporting has emphasized broad consensus, critics note that major debates—particularly over the 50/50 custody presumption in abuse cases—often intensify once legislation is formally introduced.

For now, Idaho’s proposals are drawing attention well beyond state lines, as parents and policymakers nationwide grapple with similar questions: how to protect children, preserve parental rights, and restore public confidence in family courts.

As legislatures across the country revisit custody laws, Idaho may soon become a testing ground for whether clarity, enforcement, and due process can coexist in one of the legal system’s most emotionally charged arenas.