Establish temporary hardship law
SB 384 allows Montana's Department of Public Health and Human Services to temporarily remove a child from their home for up to 15 days due to temporary hardships like sudden illness, medical emergencies, or legal issues preventing safe care. The child must be returned home within 15 days unless parents cannot resume care, in which case the department may file for emergency protective services. "Temporary hardship" is defined as short-term physical, medical, or legal circumstances that temporarily prevent a parent or guardian from ensuring the child's safety. The bill amends Montana's child welfare laws to establish this specific 15-day temporary placement process with clear return requirements.
Bill status
died
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 20, 2025
Last action May 23, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
LC1832.pdf
→
SB0384_1.pdf
·
2 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered from LC 1832 to SB 384.1 and the sponsor information was updated to list D. Emrich, J. Fuller, and D. Lenz. A new definition was added to clarify that 'concurrent planning' involves working toward family reunification while simultaneously developing an alternative permanent plan for the child.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on protective placement of children, but the definition of concurrent planning is now explicitly expanded to include the dual goals of reunification and alternative permanent planning.
DEFINITION
Added a specific definition for 'concurrent planning' to ensure it is understood as a process that pursues both family reunification and alternative permanent plans at the same time.
TECHNICAL
Updated the bill number from LC 1832 to SB 384.1 and revised the sponsor names to reflect the current legislative sponsors.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
19
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Amendments
1
Mar 1, 2025
Amended
(S) Tabled in Committee - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety
upper
Feb 21, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Public Health, Welfare and Safety
upper
Feb 20, 2025
Introduced
(S) Introduced
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Daniel Emrich
RRepublican
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