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Read. Follow. Verify.Idaho Senate Bill 1394 establishes strict conditions, mandatory review timelines, and background checks for supervised child visitation
Last action · March 17, 2026: Reported Printed; referred to Judiciary & Rules
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What This Bill Proposed
Idaho Senate Bill 1394 requires courts to state specific reasons for ordering and mandates that orders be reviewed within 49 calendar days. The measure prohibits using supervised visits as punishment and requires paid providers to undergo comprehensive fingerprint-based background checks starting July 1, 2026.
Parents involved in custody disputes face new statutory requirements for visitation orders, including mandatory 49-day and 90-day review intervals and clear criteria for transitioning to unsupervised parenting time.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Parents in custody disputes
Must participate in mandatory 49-day and 90-day court reviews of visitation orders and benefit from statutory protections against punitive supervision.
Paid supervised access providers
Must pay for and submit to comprehensive fingerprint-based criminal history and registry checks before providing services.
Supreme Court of Idaho
Must adopt rules specifying provider qualifications and duties and maintain records of all background checks.
Key Facts
- Courts ordering supervised visitation must state the reasons for the order in their decision and review the order within 49 calendar days.
- Supervised visitation cannot be ordered or continued absent good cause shown by clear and convincing evidence.
- All supervised visitation orders must include clear, objective conditions for transitioning to unsupervised parenting time and periodic reviews at intervals not exceeding 90 days.
- Preference for supervised access providers must be given to unpaid providers agreed upon by the parties.
Show all 10 facts
- Paid supervised access providers must submit to a fingerprint-based criminal history check at their own cost prior to acting in that capacity.
- Criminal checks must include a statewide criminal identification bureau check, FBI criminal history check, child abuse registry check, adult protection registry check, and statewide sex offender registry check.
- Records of all background checks for paid supervised access providers must be maintained in the office of the Idaho Supreme Court.
- A parent's legitimate inability to attend supervised visitation is not deemed a voluntary relinquishment of time.
- Supervised visitation is explicitly prohibited from being used as a punitive measure, leverage, or a substitute for proof of unfitness.
- The provisions apply only to custody and parenting time determinations between parents and do not modify, limit, or supersede Chapter 16, Title 16, Idaho Code.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly must a court review a supervised visitation order?
Are supervised access providers required to undergo background checks?
Can supervised visitation be used as punishment in custody disputes?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Mar 17, 2026CommitteeReported Printed; referred to Judiciary & Rules
- Mar 16, 2026IntroducedIntroduced; read first time; referred to JR for Printing
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Judicial Review Timelines
The legislation establishes strict statutory review deadlines (49 days initially, then 90 days) for all supervised visitation orders, addressing prior gaps in oversight.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.idaho.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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