Idaho makes largest investment ever to support foster children and families

Boise, Idaho – Governor Brad Little signed Senate Bill 1028 today, clearing the way for an unprecedented investment to improve Idaho’s foster care system. The bill addressed a signature part of Governor Little’s KEEPING PROMISES plan.

“We all agree, children deserve to live carefree lives, free of abuse and neglect. We want Idaho’s children to grow up healthy, well adjusted, and safe. Yet, Idaho has struggled to meet the needs of its most vulnerable children --- those who end up in the child welfare system. That stops today,” Governor Little said.

Governor Little issued the Promoting Families and Protecting Children Act last June, accelerating improvements to Idaho’s foster care system. He charged new DHW Director Alex Adams with moving quickly to improve our foster system.

Since then, Idaho has made significant progress in improving child welfare including:

• Increased the number of foster homes per foster child
• Opened an office of faith-based initiatives to engage churches and faith-based organizations
• Announced paid parental leave for foster parents who are state employees, and invited other Idaho employers to do the same
• Simplified and reduced rules and regulatory burdens on foster parents
• Expanded collaborative partnerships with businesses and organizations throughout Idaho to support Idaho’s foster parents
• Limited the use of non-home living settings, such as congregate care, and eliminated the use of short-term rentals

Senate Bill 1028 directs an unprecedented investment of $23.2 million and 63 new workers at DHW. The funds will:

• Identify at-risk children and youth before they become victims of abuse or neglect.
• Provide the supports necessary to safely keep kids in their homes and prevent them from entering foster care in the first place.
• Expand resources for those children who do enter foster care to ensure we have the right home for them during their time of crisis.
• Expand the availability of treatment foster homes, limiting congregate care to only the most necessary, complicated cases.
• Bring Idaho children living out-of-state back home to Idaho.

“There is no category of children more in need of protection than those in the child welfare system. Through no fault of their own, children in foster care in Idaho face enormous challenges. They need our support, and so do the foster families who step up to care for them, love them, and provide them safety,” Governor Little said.