DHW aims to increase foster homes in Idaho

 

In an effort to improve child welfare outcomes in Idaho, the Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) is pursuing the goal of doubling the rate of foster homes from 0.75 in June 2024 to 1.5 by July 2026.

Emphasizing this goal means that all department staff—including nurses at state hospitals, business analysts for federal programs, and every role in between—are uniting to achieve the overarching goal of improving Idaho’s foster care system. 

But the department can’t achieve this goal on its own. It will require the collective passion and commitment from Idaho’s elected leaders, businesses, and citizens to provide a home for every child in need.

Staff actions

Each team at DHW has developed tasks that are either increasing the number of foster families or decreasing the need of children and youth to be placed in the foster care system.

While some teams' work is directly related to child welfare, others had to think outside of the box to identify goals. For example, DHW's finance team is primarily focused on traditional accounting and financial reporting tasks, but its members decided to design a forecasting model to enhance the ability of the child welfare team to plan. The model is intended to highlight system errors and budget cliffs earlier, giving the child welfare team early warnings of issues in the financial system that might block or delay foster parent and child support payments. This streamlining could help retain existing foster parents by making sure they have the support they need.

Department actions

DHW is doing more than setting and pursuing internal goals to boost the rate of foster parents in Idaho. It’s working in the faith and business communities, too. A new regional director in north Idaho is implementing a program called Faith Families Idaho, which aims to improve child welfare by bringing together churches, people of faith, and community partners to support children in out-of-home care. The department is also reaching out to business partners in the private and government sectors to pursue innovative solutions. Partnerships so far have resulted in state park passports granting foster families free access to Idaho state parks, a fun-filled night at Boise State University where student-athletes hosted foster kids on the BLUE turf at Albertsons Stadium and a growing number of businesses offering paid time off for new foster parents. (See more below about this initiative.)

Poster with DHW's Wildly Important Goal thermometer on the left and a happy smiling foster family on the right
DHW's goal is 1.5 foster homes per foster child.
Goal: Double the rate of foster homes in Idaho
.75
Starting point: licensed foster care homes divided by foster children
(June 2024)
1.5
Ending point: licensed foster care homes divided by foster children
(July 2026)
family at home
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DHW Partners

Does your organization want to join DHW in our goal to improve the lives of vulnerable Idaho children? Reach out to your DHW partners to learn more about the work their team is doing. If you have other ideas of how your organization can make a difference for these children, we would love to hear them! 

Paid parental leave for foster families

Idaho businesses have an opportunity to make a difference for children in need through the simple act of extending paid time off to employees who take a foster child into their home.

This meaningful action gives new parents the time to give proper care to a child with specialized needs, and it gives children more one-on-one time to adjust during a challenging time in their lives. In short, offering paid time off to new foster families will increase the number of foster families.

For these reasons and more, a growing number of Idaho businesses are offering this benefit and helping move the needle as Idaho pursues the goal of doubling the rate of foster families.

The following are some of the businesses that have joined Idaho by offering paid time off to new foster families. If you would like more information about adding your business to this list, contact Laura Denner

  • St. Luke's Health System
  • Western States Equipment
  • Redman Insurance
  • Freedom Fiduciaries
  • Idaho State University
  • Blue Cross of Idaho
Parents and three children sitting on hillside looking into a river valley
Help children adjust to their new foster homes.
Foster Family Monthly newsletter

The Foster Family Monthly is a monthly newsletter for Idaho foster families. This newsletter will share new and updated information, highlight upcoming events, and centralize news and resources. 

Foster family events

Stay up to date about events around the state for foster families. The Foster Family Monthly newsletter highlights upcoming events that celebrate foster families. Past events have included outdoor recreation at state parks, film screenings, athletics at Boise State University, and more. 

Foster Family Forum

Fostering Community Connections – Foster Family Forum is a monthly opportunity for foster parents throughout Idaho to meet virtually, learn about successful community efforts to support foster youth, and share resources. Each month will feature a DHW program with ties to foster youth, as well as a community partner agency working to support foster families. Each session will also include time for foster parents to ask questions about regional resources. Details will be included each month in the Foster Family Monthly newsletter.

Cropped cover of the first edition of the Foster Family Monthly newsletter
Foster Family Monthly
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