By Michael Phillips | California Bay News
Idaho lawmakers are preparing a sweeping overhaul of the state’s child custody and family court statutes, responding to years of complaints from parents, judges, law enforcement, and child advocates who say the system has become slow, inconsistent, and harmful to children caught in prolonged disputes.
According to reporting by Idaho Business Review, the work is being led by Idaho’s bipartisan Child Custody and Domestic Relations Task Force, a 10-member group of state legislators formed in the summer of 2025. The task force is co-chaired by Tammy Nichols and Heather Scott, both Republicans, and is expected to introduce major reform legislation during the ongoing 2026 legislative session.
A system frozen in time
Idaho’s core family court statutes have not been meaningfully updated in nearly 20 years, despite major population growth, changing family structures, and new understandings of child development and abuse dynamics. Task force members say the gap has produced real-world consequences: custody cases stretching on for years, inconsistent enforcement of court orders, and enormous financial and emotional costs for families.
Testimony gathered during a statewide “road trip” of five public hearings revealed extreme examples, including protection orders taking one to two years to resolve and custody disputes lingering for a decade or more. In some cases, parents reported spending hundreds of thousands of dollars simply to maintain a relationship with their children.
Children paying the highest price
While family court debates often focus on parental rights, lawmakers say the reform effort is centered squarely on children. Carl Bjerke, a task force member, framed the issue bluntly: when the system breaks down, kids are the ones who suffer most.
Under the current framework, older children and teenagers frequently have no meaningful opportunity to be heard, even when decisions directly affect their daily lives. At the same time, law enforcement officers often treat custody interference as a “civil matter,” declining to act even when court orders are clear—leaving children in prolonged limbo.
Volunteer contributor Mila Wood, who reviewed court records and parent testimony, described a system that can be “weaponized,” where vague definitions and procedural delays allow cases to spiral while accountability disappears.
What the draft reforms would change
The task force’s draft bill, now in its final stages, would modernize Idaho Code §32-717, the state’s primary custody statute, clarifying how courts evaluate a child’s best interests. It would also strengthen recognition of abuse patterns, including coercive control—non-physical behaviors that restrict a person’s independence through fear, isolation, or economic pressure—while attempting to guard against false or exaggerated allegations.
Other proposed changes include:
- Clearer criminal treatment of custody interference, paired with better law enforcement training
- Additional education for magistrate judges handling overloaded dockets
- Allowing older children limited, structured input in custody decisions
- Streamlining procedures to reduce delays, costs, and emotional damage
The reforms draw inspiration from national child-safety frameworks such as Kayden’s Law, emphasizing prevention rather than waiting for tragedy to force change.
A careful balance, not a culture war
Unlike similar debates in other states, Idaho’s effort has avoided ideological framing. Task force members acknowledge the tension between protecting children and preserving parental rights, emphasizing that clearer rules benefit both.
Sen. Nichols summed up the motivation succinctly: families should not be driven into debt or emotional collapse simply to resolve custody questions. “We need to get people through it so they can move on with their lives,” she said, “without creating extra trauma—especially for kids.”
A model to watch
Because lawmakers cannot directly dictate judicial behavior, the task force has focused on fixing statutes—tightening definitions, clarifying enforcement, and reducing ambiguity that allows problems to persist. Whether the final legislation succeeds will depend on careful drafting and implementation, but observers say Idaho’s approach could become a model for other states struggling with similar family court backlogs.
As the 2026 session continues, the proposed reforms will likely face scrutiny from across the political spectrum. For many Idaho families, however, the message is simple: the system has been broken for too long, and doing nothing is no longer an option.
For full reporting, see the original coverage by Idaho Business Review.
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