Krystal is an Idaho foster mom whose compassion and good will are rooted in experience.

When she was 11 or 12 and her older siblings had moved away, her mom took in youth who didn’t immediately have a place to go in times of crisis. The family didn’t have a lot of resources, and they weren’t wealthy, but they had big hearts and opened their door.

“It was helpful to have a kid there like myself to help them through that initial process of transitioning to another place,” Krystal said. “Seeing where these other children came out of made me appreciate more of what I had in my life and all the things my mom provided to me.”

(Watch a video version of Krystal’s story here.)

Krystal’s sense of compassion developed in adulthood. She studied and found work helping the mentally ill in Idaho. She got married and had a child. The couple thought they were one-and-done parents, but circumstance and their own good will changed that.

At daycare, Krystal discovered a young boy who didn’t have winter clothes. Their son was growing out of some of his clothes, so they offered the boy some hand-me-downs.

Krystal then learned the boy was in foster care and needed a home. She asked herself, “could we do that?” When she brought it up with her husband, his first reaction was, “we could do that.”

Building trust

Uncertainty works against trust, and when the boy arrived in Krystal’s home he was worried someone would take him away.

“He had so much independence it was almost a fault,” Krystal said, describing that he wouldn’t even let her help him out of a car seat.

He was 2 years old, and he didn’t trust. It took time for them to foster a sense of security and for the boy to accept help.

“I started to explain the ‘why’ to him,” Krystal said. “He was still so little. I verbalized everything, explained it. He has something engrained in him from the environment he was in before.”

Learning to be a family

The boy is now 6, almost 7, and a permanent part of Krystal’s home as an adopted son. Even so, the process continues. He learned that his brother can help him brush his teeth, but at first he resisted.

“I explained to him, ‘Your brother is here doing the same task as you are. He’ll help you, too,’” she said.

It was an adjustment for their biological son as well. He was an only child, and suddenly there was another boy in the house. But Krystal was filled with hope as she watched their growing relationship.

“To see it in action, it was so fulfilling as a parent to see your child’s first reaction was kindness,” she said.

Foster care and adoption may be two of the ultimate forms of goodwill, and for Krystal and her family, the goal is to keep this young Idahoan in their family forever.

Now, years later, the promise is kept, and Krystal’s core compassion, learned from her mother when she was a girl, has matured into a generational kindness that endures.

Idaho needs foster parents

If you’ve ever considered fostering, know that your willingness to offer a home—even for one child for one season—can change a child’s life forever. For more information, call 2-1-1 or visit the Department of Health and Welfare’s foster care page. You could be the difference that turns a story of struggle into one of hope and belonging.

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

This past Sunday, March 2, the Maker Shop in Boise hosted its Foster Care Festival, a lively event filled with hands-on woodworking demonstrations, family-friendly activities, and opportunities to support foster youth transitioning into adulthood. 

More than 50 attendees of all ages gathered to learn about woodworking, enjoy free food and games, and see firsthand the impact of Foster Care Furniture—a nonprofit dedicated to helping young adults develop valuable skills.

The festival showcased live demonstrations about how to transform scrap wood into beautifully crafted, functional pieces. 

One of the event highlights was a safety demonstration using a high-tech saw designed to prevent injuries. To illustrate its effectiveness, a hot dog was placed near the blade—instantly triggering the saw’s safety mechanism, stopping the blade in a split second. This presentation underscored the importance of safety in woodworking while captivating the audience.

Beyond the hands-on fun, the event had a deeper purpose: raising awareness about the challenges faced by foster youth aging out of the system. Each year, between 300 and 500 young people in Idaho transition out of foster care, often without the necessary support to navigate seamlessly into adulthood. 

Recognizing this gap, Bruce Wingate, Founder and President of Foster Care Furniture, created a free 13-week woodworking program to equip former foster youth (ages 18-26) with practical skills, resume-building assistance, and job interview preparation.

Participants in the program not only learn woodworking but also explore career paths in carpentry, construction, and related trades.
Through Foster Care Furniture, apprentices craft furniture that is later sold, with proceeds reinvested into programs that directly benefit them. With the support of a recent $50,000 grant from the Idaho Workforce Development Council, the nonprofit can now offer trainees $15 an hour while they learn—providing financial relief alongside career training.

The festival was a celebration of resilience, opportunity, and community support. Families enjoyed interacting with costumed movie characters, winning prizes, and learning about how they can contribute to this meaningful cause. As Idaho continues to seek solutions for supporting foster youth, initiatives like Foster Care Furniture provide not just skills, but hope for a successful future.
For more information about Foster Care Furniture or to donate, visit fostercarefurniture.com.

If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, it can be as small as committing to one kid for one season of their life. Please call 2-1-1 or (800) 926-2588, or visit DHW's foster care page for more information. Your willingness to open your home can make a profound difference in a child’s life. 

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

When a child enters foster care, the difference between hope and hardship often comes down to one thing: whether a foster family is available to provide a safe and loving home.

The Department of Health and Welfare (DHW), alongside dedicated nonprofits, community leaders, and foster care advocates, is working hard to increase the number of foster families in Idaho and reduce the number of children who need care. DHW’s goals aren’t just about numbers—they’re about building a system where foster families feel supported, children feel safe, and the community plays a role in making a difference.

This week, two important Treasure Valley events will shine a spotlight on foster care. Whether you’re a foster parent, an advocate, or simply someone who cares about children in need, your presence at these events can help bring awareness, spark change, and inspire new families to step forward.

So mark your calendar:

• Wednesday, Feb. 26, 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. – Foster Care Awareness Day at the Capitol
• Sunday, March 2, 4-7 p.m. – Foster Care Festival at Maker Shop Boise

Foster Care Awareness Day at Idaho Capitol

Every year, lawmakers make decisions that impact foster children and families—but they can’t do it in isolation. They need to hear from those who have lived it, those who have fostered, and those who are working daily to make the system better.

That’s what Foster Care Awareness Day at the Capitol is all about. Foster care alumni, parents, advocates, and providers from across Idaho will gather to educate legislators, share personal experiences, and discuss solutions to better serve foster youth.

One of the most powerful moments of the day will be the signing of a Foster Care Awareness Proclamation by the Governor. This public recognition sends a strong message: Idaho is committed to improving foster care and supporting the families who step up.

Foster Care Festival this Sunday

For every heartbreaking challenge in foster care, there’s also a story of resilience, love, and community stepping up. That’s what the Foster Care Festival is about—a celebration of the foster families who make a difference and an invitation for more people to get involved.

This free, family-friendly event is a great way to connect with the foster care community, learn how you can help, and enjoy a fun evening with food, activities, and giveaways.

DHW Director Alex Adams will share insights into the state’s efforts to recruit and support more foster families and improve outcomes for children in care.

Why these events matter

Every child deserves to be safe, loved, and supported. But the reality is, there aren’t enough foster families to meet the need. Events like Foster Care Awareness Day at the Capitol and the Foster Care Festival aren’t just gatherings—they are moments of action, opportunities for education, and stepping stones toward a better foster care system.

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

For Matthew and his wife, fostering isn’t just something they do—it’s a calling. Guided by their faith, the couple has opened their home to more than 35 children since 2018, offering stability, love, and hope to youth in need.

As a pastor in the Treasure Valley, Matthew believes that fostering is an extension of his ministry, a way to live out his faith through action. (Watch a short video version of Matthew's story here.)

“My faith is integral to everything in my life,” said Matthew, who has worked as a pastor in Washington state and Idaho. “The Lord began to break our hearts (his and his wife’s) for foster care. It was challenging for me, too heartbreaking. It’s easy for the kids to think of themselves as people without any hope.”

Hope is something that can be nurtured and passed on through family. Over the years, from Washington to Idaho, Matthew and his wife have now fostered more than 35 youth, including nine long-term placements of a year or more. They also have three biological children aged 15, 17, and 19.

“I saw my kids become more grateful for the things that they have and the family that they have, but I also saw them give of themselves,” Matthew said. “I saw them lovingly and gently wrap their arms around these kids who had come from a hard place.”

Some of the toughest placements have arrive during the holidays—like the children who showed up on Christmas Eve and stayed for 15 months before eventually returning home. But that’s the point, Matthew said. It’s to reunify families, to give parents time to sort things out and to help youth prepare to go home.

“The very best situation for kids is to reunite them with their families of origin,” Matthew said. “Their financial situation is irrelevant. As long as it’s a safe situation with the kid, it’s best to be with their biological family.”

Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. Not all foster youth can go home. A 15-year-old young man who is with the family now came to them at age 12. His situation was untenable. Parental rights were terminated, and Matthew’s family filed paperwork to become adoptive parents.

On the other hand, many of Matthew’s long-term placements thought they’d never reunite with their parents, but most eventually did. The doubt, fear, and brokenness may not have completely healed, but the youth usually went home stronger than when they’d landed in foster care.

“The kids are only part of the story,” Matthew said. “There’s a whole family, a community. They still love their children. You’ve got to push judgement out of the way. It doesn’t make you better than them; it just means you’re at a different point in life.”

Yet, with every placement, every goodbye, and every reunion—whether joyful or painful—Matthew and his family have learned that love is always worth the risk.

“Don’t worry about getting your heart broken,” he said. “Your heart’s going to get broken anyway. So might as well do it while loving some kids along the way.”

If you’re interested in becoming a foster parent, please call 2-1-1 or 800-926-2588, or visit DHW's foster care page for more information. Your willingness to open your home can make a profound difference in a child’s life.

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

The new foster parent handbook, A Guide to Fostering in Idaho: Nurturing Kids, Building Families, was recently mailed to Idaho foster families. 

Designed for both new and experienced foster parents, the handbook serves as a guide and a support system, addressing many of the questions and challenges foster families encounter.

The handbooks were mailed to foster parents late last week. They’re divided into three sections: Information Sharing, Training, and Support.

• Information Sharing outlines the types of information foster parents can expect to receive and how to access that information to advocate effectively for the children in their care.
• Training highlights safety information and introduces training options available to resource parents.
• Support provides practical problem-solving tools and emotional encouragement to help ensure foster parents have the resources needed to successfully navigate the complexities of foster care.

In addition to printed copies for foster families, local resource peer mentors and support organizations will use the handbook as a tool for training and onboarding new foster families. By incorporating real-life scenarios and practical advice, the handbook aims to bridge the gap between policy and day-to-day parenting challenges.

Foster parents who have already received the handbook have expressed appreciation for its straightforward guidance and accessibility. Some have noted that having all key information in one place makes it easier to navigate the complexities of foster care and advocate effectively for the children in their homes.

The handbook was developed in response to feedback from foster parents and was a collaborative effort involving the department, foster parents, Guardians ad Litem (GALs), resource peer mentors, trainers, and community partners. Each group had one or more representatives instrumental in the development and review of the handbook.

Special thanks go to the Casey Foundation, which generously funded the printing of this first publication. The handbook has also been published online and is available to the general public at DHW’s website.

DHW anticipates updating and republishing the handbook annually.

If you’re interested in becoming a foster parent, please call 2-1-1 or 800-926-2588, or visit DHW's foster care page for more information. Your willingness to open your home can make a profound difference in a child’s life.

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

For children in foster care, the effects of instability, stress, and trauma can be overwhelming. Fly fishing is emerging as a therapeutic tool, offering kids a chance to escape their worries, build confidence, and experience the calming effects of nature. 

The Department of Health and Welfare is reinforcing this approach in 2025 by providing free fishing licenses to youth in extended foster care. The program is also paving the way for a new partnership with The Mayfly Project, a national nonprofit that has established a track record of success in using fly fishing to mentor and support children in foster care.

About fly fishing as therapy

Kaitlin Barnhart, co-founder and national program director of The Mayfly Project, believes DHW’s initiative is a step in the right direction.

“We’re proof of how what DHW is doing is important,” Barnhart said. “Fly fishing creates so many mental health benefits.”

Barnhart’s background working in the foster care system led her to fly fishing as a way to decompress. She quickly realized how beneficial the sport was, not just for herself, but for the children she worked with. She began taking foster youth fishing and saw immediate positive changes.

“It gives kids a chance to take a break and just be kids on the river,” she said. “There’s a decompression we often see when we get them on the water—they become a different kid almost immediately.”

Barnhart pointed out that some doctors now prescribe fly fishing for people with PTSD due to the rhythmic, meditative nature of casting. The simple act of casting can be beneficial for children, particularly those in foster care who may struggle with learning disabilities, ADHD, or other effects of trauma.

“Our project is designed to help kids feel successful,” Barnhart added. “It also helps develop self-esteem.”

Free fishing licenses for youth in extended foster care

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission recently approved a program that will provide free fishing licenses to youth in extended foster care and one foster parent per household in 2025. This initiative is a collaborative effort between Idaho Fish and Game, DHW, and Idaho Sportsmen, Access & Opportunity, a hunting and fishing advocacy group that is funding the balance of discounted fishing licenses for eligible youth ages 18 to 20 and one foster parent per family.

Foster youth and parents who wish to participate will receive a voucher from DHW that can be redeemed for a fishing license at a Fish and Game office.

Youth in foster care and their families wishing to participate in the program should reach out to Laura Denner at DHW.

Laura Denner, DHW
208-334-0641 (office)
Laura.Denner@dhw.idaho.gov

It takes a village

The effort to introduce more foster youth to fly fishing is continuing to take root in Idaho through the efforts of a growing number of organizations: DHW, Idaho Fish and Game, Idaho Sportsmen, Access & Opportunity, and The Mayfly Project, to name four.

“For kids in foster care to learn that there’s someplace they can go and experience fresh air, clean water, and the calm of fly fishing is huge,” Barnhart said. “Our rivers need kids, and our kids need rivers.”

Idaho Sportsmen, Access & Opportunity Founder and Chairman Benn Brocksome agreed.

“Idaho’s great outdoors should be accessible to all, especially foster youth who can find solace and adventure in nature,” he said in reference to his organization’s decision to underwrite the foster youth free fishing program. 

A step in the right direction

The fly fishing community has embraced The Mayfly Project, leading to rapid growth. In just ten years, the organization has expanded to 67 project locations in the U.S.

The budding partnerships between DHW, The Mayfly Project, Fish and Game, and the Idaho Sportsmen group represent a community investment in the well-being of Idaho’s foster youth. By leveraging Idaho’s rich outdoor environment, the initiatives offer young people a meaningful and healing way to connect with nature, gain new skills, and build lasting relationships.

The Mayfly Project’s decade-long track record of success working with foster youth provides clear evidence that fishing can be a transformative experience for children in foster care, reinforcing that DHW’s efforts are a step in the right direction.

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

When a child is removed from their home for their own safety and placed with foster parents, everything they’ve known is disrupted. They have new rooms, live with new adults with new routines, and might attend a new school.

Change can be good for the youths and their new foster parents. For Jack and Gwyn, a married couple from Star, Idaho, instilling a routine with their foster children was paramount to their success. (Follow this link to view a video where Jack and Gwyn share about their experience.)

Bedtimes, mealtimes, consistency, and routine brought a steadiness to the three children they foster. Jack and Gwyn don’t treat their foster kids any different than they treated their older children who have left the house, or their 11-year-old daughter at home. In fact, their 11-year-old was the one who suggested Gwyn and Jack apply to be foster parents.

She begged her parents to have a baby themselves, but after they listened to a presentation at their church about the need for more foster parents in Idaho, they initiated the paperwork. They became foster parents in March 2024.

The children in Jack and Gwyn’s care are part of a larger biological family. They are three of six siblings, who still get to visit their parents and brothers and sisters, but most of their time is spent under the steady guidance of Jack and Gwyn.

“All kids at the end of the day are kids, and they all need love, and they all need support,” Gwyn said. “We have learned a lot about kids and different backgrounds, but we find that—just—they're just kids, and it's simple.”

It’s important to Jack and Gwyn that they make the children feel safe—one of the keys to the foster system working. They said the children feel grief and loss and go through periods of stress after visits with their siblings or parents. He said he and Gwyn respond by giving space, a steady routine, and safety. Those basics are required, but the extras—the caring, nurturing, teaching—make foster parenting successful.

Jack and Gwyn had fears: How would the foster children get along with their daughter? “What if they miss their family so much we can’t help them?” They worked through it, listened to them, and kept their bellies full and their rooms clean.

Foster children live chaotic lives, but they can feel the calm of safety in the right home, Jack and Gwyn agreed. They watched the three children change in their care, saw them start to find happiness. The children now share their feelings and offer hugs when they get up in the morning.

Not every family in Idaho has the space or the means to take in an extra child with a complicated background, but the people who do are rewarded in miraculous ways. They find new strength, new love, and they share it.

“Please, don’t hesitate,” Jack said. “Treat them like you treat your own, and it makes life a lot easier.”

If you’ve ever considered fostering, know that your willingness to offer a home—even for one child for one season—can change a child’s life forever. For more information, call 2-1-1 or visit the Department of Health and Welfare’s foster care page. You could be the difference that turns a story of struggle into one of hope and belonging.

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

Idaho Gov. Brad Little kicked off the 2025 Legislative Session on Monday, Jan. 6, addressing lawmakers in a State of the State address and making a budget recommendation that lawmakers will consider as they set the state’s next fiscal blueprint.

Among the good news for Idaho children and families is that the Governor’s recommendation adds $9.6 million to support prevention and transformation efforts in Idaho’s foster care system. If funded, this would be the largest ongoing increase in support for child welfare in state history. Most importantly, it has the prospect of positively changing the trajectory of the lives of some of Idaho’s most vulnerable children.

The Governor’s office and Division of Financial Management worked closely with the Department of Health and Welfare to calibrate a $9.6 million package to help the department’s goal of doubling the rate of foster families by June 2026. To be sure, the department has made great progress toward that goal, growing the number of foster families per 100 kids from 74 to 94 in just seven short months.

The department has succeeded so far by reorganizing the department leadership team and program structure to create more oversight and support, streamlining department policies and rules, initiating new community partnerships, and more.

The budget request will augment these efforts by providing funds to build out a prevention team, lower caseloads, raise foster family pay rates, and take other actions that will get the department closer to achieving its goal. 

Gov. Little’s proposed investment in child welfare marks a pivotal moment for Idaho’s foster care system, offering a clear path toward meaningful transformation. 

By focusing on prevention, increasing support for foster families, and addressing systemic challenges like high caseloads, Idaho has a unique opportunity to enact lasting change. Idaho’s children and families are counting on this investment to not only meet current needs but to build a brighter, more stable future.

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