Representative Bill Mercer opened testimony on House Bill 694, which proposes amendments to Montana’s child abuse and neglect declaration of policy and placement‑preference language used by the Child and Family Services Division (CFSD).

Mercer told the committee the bill seeks to clarify statutory language so decisions to remove or place children focus specifically on placements made because of ‘‘child abuse and neglect’’ and to state that placements outside of the United States are disfavored when other options are reasonably available.

Nut graf: Supporters described the change as a policy preference that would encourage placements closer to the child’s home and family to promote reunification and oversight. Opponents and some committee members expressed concern about unintended effects on military families, Indigenous placements across the Canada–U.S. border, and other situations where a parent’s residence outside the U.S. is lawful.

Division administrator Nikki Grossberg appeared as an informational witness and said the bill would not prevent CFSD from placing a child with a noncustodial parent who is outside the United States when statutory priorities or court orders require it. ‘‘It does not bind the department from an out of country placement,’’ Grossberg said; it ‘‘merely says it is disfavored.’’

During executive action, the committee adopted a conceptual amendment to exempt children subject to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) from the ‘‘disfavored’’ language. Vice Chair Howe moved the conceptual amendment; staff confirmed a practical edit to add an exemption clause referencing ICWA. Several committee members voiced difficulty with ‘‘bad facts make bad law’’ — they said a single troubling case should not create a rigid, broad prohibition — but a bipartisan majority advanced the bill from committee after the ICWA exemption was accepted.

Action: The committee voted to advance House Bill 694 after adopting the ICWA exemption; the committee roll call recorded 12 yeas and 9 nays on the motion to pass out of committee.

Ending: The bill moves to the House floor with a committee instruction that placements involving tribal children and ICWA protections remain explicitly exempted. Sponsors and CFSD staff said the statutory revision is intended as a guiding preference rather than an absolute rule; legislators asked that DPHHS and CFSD clarify operational guidance during subsequent floor debate.