Treasure Valley resident Shane Hanson has been providing for kids in foster care for more than a decade, but he just became a foster father for the first time this summer.

“Since welcoming our 1-year-old foster placement, the transformation has been nothing short of miraculous,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post that went viral this summer. “Once tense and reserved, she is now beginning to giggle and laugh, her radiant smile lighting up every room she enters. The joy she brings to our family is indescribable.”

In addition to his day job as president and CEO of a retirement plan consulting firm, Freedom Fiduciaries, Hanson is founder of a nonprofit called Freedom Youth Foundation. With the slogan, “It’s for the kids,” the organization’s mission is to empower foster youth by providing them with the tools, skills, and support they need to build successful futures.

While he’s spent 13 years working with foster youth, he said he and his wife grappled with some common challenges when it came to the decision to sign up as foster parents themselves. 

“We have four kids. We were struggling just to keep afloat as a family,” he said. “In my mind, I was thinking: Is it the right time to have a great environment for a foster child, and are we going to bring them into chaos?”

It's a situation and sentiment many families likely share, but Hanson stressed that there’s a lot that families can do in addition to becoming foster parents. They can donate to nonprofits, volunteer with groups like Freedom Youth Foundation, or spread the word to encourage others to get involved.

“We need foster families, but not everyone is going to be able to make that jump,” he said. “So what about respite? And what about coming out and helping us work with the kids?”

Freedom Youth Foundation’s work

Hanson is a new foster father, but his roots helping kids in foster care learn life skills goes back decades. Freedom Youth Foundation harnesses the universal language of athletics to teach life skills such as accountability, leadership, and teamwork. It’s also expanded its curriculum the last few years to include resume writing, mock interviews, and basic financial literacy.

The program was born in 2011 when Hanson, a collegiate basketball player working in Serbia, was asked to participate in a United Nations peace-promoting initiative. He coached 150 young people who came from the war-torn former Yugoslavian region.

“It broke down barriers, and I watched as basketball brought kids together whose parents and grandparents had killed each other,” he said. “It deeply, deeply impacted me. I realized basketball could be so much more than a sport that I loved.”

Originally called Progression Athletics International, the organization started in southern California and went to work hosting basketball, soccer, and other sports events to bring kids together and teach positive life skills. Hanson expanded into Idaho in 2017 and rebranded as Freedom Youth Foundation in 2022.

Just this summer, the organization secured a Treasure Valley headquarters, which hosted a grand opening in October. The facility includes office space, storage for sports equipment, a large room fit for hosting meetings and events, and a clothing exchange called Parker’s Closet, named for his daughter whose idea it was to collect new clothes that foster kids could have for free to help them feel important and valued.

Freedom Youth Foundation is continuing to expand its circle of influence in Idaho. It connected with the state late in 2023 by providing Christmas gifts for kids in temporary foster care in Nampa. In spring 2024, it helped coordinate considerable community contributions like painting and electrical work for a new state-run foster care facility in Payette. 

“Doors keep opening, and we keep checking out what’s on the other side,” Hanson said. “It’s been incredible. I equate it to: we’re learning to surf with a tidal wave of positive momentum at our back.”

Becoming a foster dad himself

Despite decades spent working with foster kids Hanson and his wife are only discovering what it’s like to be foster parents themselves. 

And it’s clearly a moving experience.

He recalled a moment that took place taking their foster daughter through the chaotic environment of a drive-through carwash.

“She was terrified, clutching her car seat with wide, frightened eyes. In that moment of distress, I reached my hand into her seat. She grasped my thumb with a sense of relief and trust, and in an instant her fear melted away.”

Hanson said this small moment underscores the importance of stepping forward as foster parents.

“A stable home, a reassuring presence, and unconditional love can make all the difference in a child’s life,” he said. “If we could all be a kid, we’d want to be. They don’t worry about taxes, clocking in, clocking out. What they want is to be happy, loved, supported, and provided the opportunity to grow, nurture, and thrive.”

By sharing some of his experience working with foster kids and becoming a foster parent himself, Hanson hopes others will be inspired to get involved as well.

“What greater impact can you have than helping a child have a safe and nurturing home, whether you’re going to adopt them or care for them temporarily. It comes back to: what would you want for your kids if something happened to you? I’d want people to step up.”

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is dedicated to strengthening the health, safety, and independence of Idahoans. Learn more at healthandwelfare.idaho.gov.