Idaho will stop temporarily placing foster children with complex needs in short-term rentals, the state’s Department of Health and Welfare announced Tuesday.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, in a news release, said it was able to halt the practice because there are relatively more foster families compared to foster children, and a new assessment center in the state has “absorbed demand.”
In 2020 and 2021, more Idaho children entered foster care, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Youth Safety and Permanency Administrator Jean Fisher said in the release. To keep kids safe, she said, the agency established the temporary housing program, which she said the agency always hoped to phase out “as soon as possible.”
“Temporary housing kept kids safe, but the immediate placement wasn’t ideal because community-based options are always better,” Fisher said.
Idaho has about 90 foster homes for every 100 children in need — a 0.9 ratio — as of Monday, the Health and Welfare Department reported. In June, it made a goal to double the ratio from 0.75 to 1.5, by reducing the number of children entering the foster system and increasing the number of foster homes.
In May, the department opened the new 16-bed Payette Assessment and Care Center.
“We’re continuing to pursue creative and innovative ways to strengthen our child welfare system,” Fisher said. “We look forward to partnering with Idahoans as we make sure that this trend is sustainable, and that every child has a safe and loving home.”
In its budget request for the next fiscal year, the Department of Health and Welfare asked for approval to funnel more resources toward preventing kids from being placed in foster care, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.
In the request, to be considered during the 2025 legislative session, the state health agency is asking to raise the child welfare budget by almost $15 million to $65.2 million, and add 68 new full-time staff for a total of nearly 503 staff in fiscal year 2026, which starts June 2026.
If approved by the Idaho Legislature, some new funding and staff requested would go toward funding prevention work, reducing agency caseworker workloads, enhancing support to foster parents and improving kids placements in child welfare.
More than eight in every 10 children in the Department of Health and Welfare’s custody are placed in a care-setting, like foster care or congregate care; the remaining kids stay in their homes, with agency prevention services geared toward helping families ensure kids’ safety.
A major goal Health and Welfare outlined is to reverse that trend: To have the vast majority of kids remain in their homes and receive prevention services, with the rest of kids in placement settings.
Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
