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Revised Certified Family Home/Foster Care Mix Policy and Procedures

A major focus of the Department of Health and Welfare continues to be ensuring children who need foster care have a safe place to live. On February 18, 2025, the department revised its policy and procedures for granting a variance to IDAPA 16.03.19.100.01.b, which prohibits a certified family home from simultaneously holding a children’s foster care home license. Previously, placement in a certified family home was only possible under very narrow circumstances. Under the revised policy, the department expands who may be eligible for the variance to those providers who have been screened and pre-approved.

If you are a certified family home provider interested in opening your home to foster children, please contact the department by emailing us at cfhcc@dhw.idaho.gov and requesting the Screening Questionnaire, which you will complete and return to the same email address. The department will review the answers you provide. If the department’s screening process finds that you, your home, and your resident(s) may be a good option for placement of a foster child, you will be invited to apply for a variance to IDAPA 16.03.19.100.01.b. If the variance is granted, you will be listed on a Pre-Approved list available to select Child Protection workers, who may reach out to you about possible placement. Before admitting a specific foster child into your home, you will need the CFH program manager’s final approval based on a recommendation from an Inter-Department Staffing and agreement between management across the department’s divisions (Child, Youth, and Family Services; Medicaid; and Licensing & Certification).

2025 Basic Needs Allowance

A Cost of Living Adjustment will be made to Social Security benefits in 2025, increasing benefits by 2.5%. This means that residents receiving Certified Family Home (CFH) services whose care is fully or partially paid for by Medicaid have the right under Section 39-3516(4)(a), Idaho Code, to retain at least $132 of their monthly income in 2024 for personal spending, up from $129 in 2024. CFH providers may charge the remainder for room and board or (if Medicaid is only a partial payer) care. If a CFH provider opts to increase charges to a resident, per IDAPA 16.03.19.260.04.m please give written notice of the increase to the resident or their representative at least 30 days in advance of implementing the increased charges. 

Pending Update

Pending Update