Bill Description: Senate Bill 1095 would require the Department of Health and Welfare to notify law enforcement of every report of child abuse or neglect. 

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Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the U.S. Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?

Senate Bill 1095 would amend Section 16-1605, Idaho Code, to require the Department of Health and Welfare to notify law enforcement of every report of child abuse or neglect.

Idaho law requires law enforcement officials to notify the Department of Health and Welfare when they receive a report of child abuse or neglect. The Statement of Purpose for Senate Bill 1095 decries the lack of a "reciprocal requirement" for the Department to notify law enforcement of every report. 

This is flawed reasoning because law enforcement typically intervenes only in serious and emergency cases, such as those requiring a warrant or forced entry. While there are a range of statistics available, almost all agree that a majority of these reports are false or unfounded, with some putting the number as high as 80%.

Many of these reports are quickly dispensed with and require no further intervention. Requiring the department to notify law enforcement about every single report wastes time and money. It could also create stigma for the subjects of those reports should law enforcement encounter them in an unrelated setting. 

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