BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) — A 12-day-old infant boy named Benjamin, “Benji,” died in Nampa in December, despite calls to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare asking the agency to check on the baby. The families who tried to get officials to respond to their concerns about the parents, who had prior child abuse convictions and terminated parental rights of five other children, have been calling for a change in policy to prevent this from happening again, IdahoNews.com reported.
In response to the death, Nampa RepublicanRep. Steve Tanner sponsored House Bill 776, which advanced to the House floor on Tuesday.
The House Health and Welfare Committee voted 12-4 to approve the bill that would require a high prioritization of an assessment for infants below the age of 1 if there’s a child protection report, and if child faces certain risk factors…