TITLE 18

CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS

CHAPTER 15

CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE ADULTS

18-1510.  Providing shelter to runaway children. (1)  A person who knowingly or intentionally provides housing or other accommodations to a child seventeen (17) years of age or younger without the authority of: (a) the custodial parent or guardian of the child; (b) the state of Idaho or a political subdivision thereof; or (c) the one having legal custody of the child shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prevent the lawful detention of a minor child or the rendering of emergency aid or assistance to a minor child. It shall be an affirmative defense to the provisions of this section that the person providing housing or other accommodations to the child has notified the custodial parent or guardian or the county sheriff or city police of the child’s whereabouts. It shall also be an affirmative defense to the provisions of this section that the person providing housing or other accommodations to the child notices reasonable evidence that the child has been abused by the custodial parent or guardian.

(2)(a)  Licensed children’s residential care facilities, registered children’s institutions, and behavioral health youth crisis centers providing emergency runaway services are not guilty of a violation of this section if:

(i)   The child is a runaway who consents to shelter, care, or licensed service;

(ii)  The facility attempts to contact and is unable to locate the child’s parent or legal guardian or the child refuses to disclose the contact information of the child’s parent or legal guardian; and

(iii) The facility has notified the county sheriff or police of the child’s whereabouts pursuant to local laws and licensure requirements.

(b)  Licensed children’s residential care facilities, registered children’s institutions, and behavioral health youth crisis centers are still required to comply with reporting requirements pursuant to section 16-1605, Idaho Code.

(c)  As used in this subsection:

(i)   "Behavioral health youth crisis center" means a voluntary outpatient facility operated twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week, and three hundred sixty-five (365) days a year to provide evaluation, intervention, and referral for youth seventeen (17) years of age or younger who are experiencing a crisis due to a behavioral health condition. The facility may not provide services to a youth client for more than twenty-three (23) hours and fifty-nine (59) minutes in a single episode of care.

(ii)  "Licensed children’s residential care facility" has the same meaning as in section 39-1202, Idaho Code.

(iii) "Registered children’s institution" has the same meaning as in section 39-1202, Idaho Code.

(3)  A person convicted of a violation of the provisions of this section shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not in excess of six (6) months, a fine not in excess of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or by both such fine and imprisonment. Additionally, any real property utilized in violation of the provisions of this section may be declared a public nuisance pursuant to chapter 1, title 52, Idaho Code.

History:

[18-1510, added 1989, ch. 155, sec. 11, p. 389; am. 2024, ch. 248, sec. 1, p. 880.]